The One That Got Away
by Wander101
Summary: A BxN story. Because, why not? Starts shortly after Episode 2 and goes off script. A chance meeting sends greater and greater ripples through the New Century universe.
1. A Chance Meeting

Title: The One That Got Away

Episode 1: A Chance Meeting

A/N: This story takes place shortly after episode 2. There is a lot I've forgotten about zoids. If I mess anything up and anyone cares, they can point it out in a review. Sorry for any grammatical errors, no beta reader.

* * *

Bit Cloud drove his well-worn but serviceable truck through the desert. The barren sand dunes stretched out before him. Some would find it disturbing, the vast emptiness. He was long used to it. All the same, as the Blitz team's base appeared on the horizon, the junk dealer turned zoid warrior relaxed in his seat. Almost home. Finally. The sun was high overhead. Not yet noon but he'd put in a long day. No sleeping in if you're going to scavenge parts. It had paid off. Someone had taken a beating in a Stealth Viper. He turned off the main road and slowed down as he approached the outer fence.

The hanger doors were open. Bit smiled. Someone else was up. He pulled into the center of the hanger facing away from the Liger's stall. He hopped out of the truck and lifted the back gate. "Hey partner, guess what I found!" He climbed into the bed of the truck. Bit nudged a 40mm heavy machine gun with his boot. "What do you think?"

The zoid gave a low growl, stretching its neck from side to side. Disapproval. A phantom weight settled awkwardly on one of Bit's shoulders.

Fair enough, unless they mounted it directly to his back. The memory of the Heldigunner turret was fresh in both their minds. Bit hoisted a small caliber dual laser machine gun, grunting with the effort. The Viper's tail was 10 yards from the body but both guns had survived. "Agh, okay, how bout this?"

The Liger rumbled. A mental shrug.

Bit sighed and lowered the weapon. He planted one hand against the wall and stared up at the white zoid. He opened his mouth, then closed it. What was the point?

If Liger didn't want them, no point in holding on to it and no point driving all the way to town for just the machine guns. Bit sorted through the crates from the Shield Liger's old stall. No one had complained, about the parts at least. Just looking at the Heldigunner turret made his back hurt. If the shop wanted it they could pick it up. He loaded a set of oversized stabilizers and the optical sight from an electromagnetic rifle that didn't make it.

"Bit! Move your old junking wagon!" Leena didn't quite screech. She glared at him, hands on her hips. "I'm working here!" She stood next to the diagnostic rig. The Dibison towered over her. Cables ran from the rig, up the side of the zoid, and into the open cockpit, where Jamie sat at the controls.

"Sorry. I got a little excited." He was sure the Liger would have liked one of them. Bit secured one crate against the truck's frame. At this rate he was going to have to buy weapons. Did zoids not like hand-me-downs?

"Were you raised in a barn?" She jerked a thumb at the Dibison. "In case you forgot, these parts are off limits."

"Ha. Ha." He'd heard that before and a lot worse. Bit went back for another crate. "I'm a scavenger, not a thief."

"Think you can pretend to be a zoid warrior?" Brad Hunter, the Blitz team's resident mercenary, walked up, a mug in one hand. Steam rose lazily from the top. "We have a battle coming up and we don't want to be embarrassed again."

Bit tied off the last crate in the back of the truck. "I won that last battle!" And the one before. "Where were you?" Cowering in the forest, right up until he was shot.

"Ha!" Leena crossed her arms over her chest. "You got lucky. The Liger did all the work."

Brad stared into his cup. He swirled the contents. "Quite an accomplishment for a zoid with no weapons and a total amateur at the controls."

"When? Who are we fighting?" Jaime called down. He was already climbing out of the cockpit.

"Two days." Brad took a long sip of his drink. "The Razorbacks."

"Two days?!" Jamie was on the verge of a freak out. "I gotta get to work. I've barely heard of the Razorbacks." He took off at a dead run, disappearing into the main living quarters.

"Hey! Jamie!" Leena shouted after him. "I need help!" She turned back to Bit. "Oh new guy… mind helping me refit the D Bison?"

Bit slammed the truck's gate down and locked it. "No time. I need to run these out to a shop." He climbed into the driver's seat and thumbed the ignition.

"Talk about selfish. Brad-"

"No money in it."

* * *

The sun beat down on Bit as he dragged the empty pallet jack behind him. At the back of his truck, he unzipped his jacket and threw it in. Lacking sleeves, Bit wiped his forehead with the bottom of his tank. It wasn't that a hot day but too hot for lugging parts back and forth. Bit sighed. Last one. Too bad he'd saved the worst for last. He jacked up the pallet, even with the back of the truck. He braced himself against the heavy machine gun and pushed. Once loaded, he turned the pallet jack around and back toward Porter's Garage.

Porter's Garage wasn't one of those custom order zoid shops but held a good inventory, new and used. And it had a glorious air conditioning system. Bit left the pallet beside the other parts, where two employees were inspecting them. He rolled his shoulders then raised both arms and reached for the sky. His lower back was a coiled spring. No one ever said junk dealing was glamourous.

Rather than hover, he looked over the shelves.

Plenty of long range guns. A sonic cannon that must have come off a Warshark. They had a little bit of everything. A Double Barrel Rifle took up one corner of the warehouse. Two meters tall, six meters long, and all of it business.

No way. Liger was never going to be a long range zoid.

He stopped in front of a pair of orange laser blades, clearly from a Blade Liger. Liger would love those. He had to. He could make them work, with the right parts and- He saw the price tag and his heart sank. To hell with them. It was kinda goofy anyway, mounting the blades to the middle of the body.

"That bad?" A familiar feminine voice.

A woman with light olive skin, purple eyes, and dark red hair.

"Naomi?" Bit forced himself not to shift awkwardly. "What are you doing in a mom and pop shop?" He wasn't normally self-conscious. But he'd ditched his jacket a while ago, leaving him in a white tank and jeans. At least he wasn't sweating anymore.

Whereas Naomi Fuegel was beautiful and exotic and overdressed by comparison. Her long red hair was braided and what wasn't framed her face. A red and black dress hugged her figure. Long sleeves hung off her shoulders. She wore a red skirt that stopped at mid-thigh but a red cape started at her waist and ended just above her boots.

She approached the shelf next to him, leaned forward, and ran her fingers along the barrel of a plasma cannon. Her red braid fell well past her shoulders. She must have tied it up during battles. "Can't afford to be a snob. You never know what you'll find." She glanced back at him. "Picking up my Gun Sniper nearby. Someone tore off one of the arms. Did a number on the chassis too."

Less than a week since their battle, it made sense.

"Excuse me, sir." A middle aged woman in a blue smock approached him. She held a data pad for him to see. "This is the value for the rebuilt parts."

Two thirds of what he wanted. Typical. "Hmm." Bit frowned, made no attempt to hide it. "Can I see it item by item?" His back ached at the thought of reloading all the parts but he wasn't going to get lowballed like that.

The woman gave him a tight smile. "I understand." She disappeared into the back room.

Naomi had straightened up, her eyes were on him. She crossed her arms under her breasts. "You're a junk dealer?"

"For a while now." It was honest work, most of the time, even if you couldn't brag about it.

Her lips quirked. "Talk about a good deal."

"The price is always right." Bit smiled. "How's your team holding up?"

"We're not exactly close. Don't get me wrong. They're good girls, just green." Naomi shrugged her shoulders. "It beats mercenary work."

"Really? I'd figure the Red Comet would be in high demand." Bit couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice. Brad loved being a mercenary, seemed to relish being an outsider.

That got a smile out of her. "It's easy to leave, easy to be told to leave. You can only be low man on the totem pole for so long."

Low man on the totem pole.

"Tell me about it." Bit muttered. "Hmm, I should start my own team." That would be the life. No one talking down to him.

Naomi lifted a hand to her chin, one finger brushing her pink lips. "Won't you need some weapons first?"

She was nicer about it than Brad.

 _"_ _Your Liger Zero is a worthless waste of space."_

The mercenary's holier-than-thou attitude always got under his skin. "I'm working on that." The Liger wasn't even his, yet. The Doc owned it. Bit cleared his throat. "Liger is really picky."

Naomi tilted her head. "You're an odd one, Bit Cloud." She gave him a smile and a wave, before she started toward the door. "See ya around."

"Yeah. Bye." He stared at her retreating figure. If only she'd left the waist cape at home…

"Like what you see?" A rough and gruff voice came from Bit's right. An older man with white hair and white stubble grinned at him. He wore a yellow shirt, worn and faded, with the sleeves rolled up over his muscled forearms.

Bit's eyes widened. His voice went up an octave. "What?! I was just-"

"I meant the plasma cannon." He inclined his head at the exit. Naomi was long gone. "Don't blame you for her either."

"Heh. Yeah." His face was red. It had to be. "Who are you?"

"I'm the pop in this mom and pop shop. Everyone calls me Porter." Porter extended a large calloused hand. "I can come up some on the parts you're selling. But I only have so much cash on hand." Porter tapped a data pad against Bit's chest. He gestured to the same weapon Naomi had touched, the triple barreled plasma cannon. "If you're interested in trade, we can do a little more."

Three slender barrels, capable of spitting out super-heated plasma, formed a single triangular head and disappeared into a tapered housing block. The smooth gray finish caught a glare from the overhead lights and winked at him. "I'm interested."

The owner grinned. "Good choice." He patted one of the barrels. "Great rate of fire. No recoil. Best thing to have in an air battle. You got a Pteras or something?"

"Not exactly." The recoil, the speed, if it worked for a flyer… "What about on a Liger?"

"A Liger?" Porter raised an eyebrow. "Kid you might be an idiot," he scratched the stubble on his cheek, "then again, you could be brilliant."

* * *

Doctor Steven Toros boosted the gain on the inputs. Either the diagnostic equipment was failing or the Dibison's sensors were totally out of whack. "Anything now?" He shouted up to the zoid's cockpit.

"Nothing!" Leena sat back in a huff. She never could deal with frustration.

"Let's re-initialize the system, again." Toros scratched his head. He ignored Leena's choice of words as she jabbed at the Dibison's controls. The screens on his panel went blank. "Where is everyone?"

"Jamie's freaking out. Bit's selling scrap. Who knows where Brad is?"

Toros sighed. What he wouldn't give to have someone else do this. In the distance, there might have been the low rumbling of an engine. Sure enough, Bit's camouflaging truck appeared.

Bit pulled into the hanger, stopping in front of the Liger Zero. He leaned halfway out the window, waving an arm excitedly. "Hey Doc, sell me the Liger!"

"Sell you the Liger?" Toros crossed his arms. "I don't know Bit. It cost me a lot of credits." Then it sat there collecting dust. "Why the sudden interest?" And why now, when he could finally make some money off the zoid?

"I need a zoid." Bit jogged over. "It's not like anyone else can pilot it!"

"Go for it Dad." Leena groaned, rubbing her palms against her eyes. "We couldn't unload the thing for years."

Another rumbling sound, this time a from the Liger Zero. Bit turned back to face the zoid.

"Thank you, Leena." Toros muttered, then louder. "Be a dear and finish up with the Dibison." He fixed a smile on his face. "Okay Bit. I guess we can work something out. Follow me."

He led Bit out of the hanger, back into the living quarters. They passed Brad and Jamie in what served as the meeting room, eating instant noodles and reading a copy of Champ Industry magazine.

Toros took a seat on one of the couches. "If owning the Liger means that much to you, I suppose I can part with it."

"There's one born every minute." Brad paused his slurping just long enough to chime in.

Toros' jaw clenched. The Liger Zero's… quirks weren't a secret but did any of them understand how to negotiate? He fixed Brad with a cold stare. "Brad, would you mind helping Leena? Can't have a malfunctioning zoid dragging the team down."

The mercenary gave a sigh but rose from his seat, noodles in hand. "Suppose you're right. We've got enough problems."

One down. Jamie wouldn't stab him in the back… The kid couldn't be trusted. "Jamie, how's that strategy coming? I'd like a briefing as soon as I'm done talking to Bit."

"I'm on it Doc!" Jamie dropped his magazine, jumped from his seat, and ducked into the hallway.

Toros gestured to the empty couch across from him. He waited until Bit settled into his seat. "You may not know this, Bit. White Ligers are quite rare."

* * *

The hanger was empty when Bit returned, of people at least. The Dibison stood alone in the center of the hanger. The diagnostic rig was on its back, cabling ran haphazardly along the floor. Bit stepped over a crushed cup of noodles and found the only company he wanted. The Liger didn't move, didn't make a sound, but he swore there was a warmth in the back of his mind.

"Hey partner, I've got an idea." He opened the rear gate of his truck. The plasma cannon stared back at him. "I need you to give it a shot."

A shock cannon was more conventional for a high speed ground zoid. A shock cannon would hit harder. Hell, a set of laser cannons would too. Plenty of warriors swore by either of them. Shock cannons were slower, too much recoil. Laser cannons- Well, the Liger didn't need a set of laser cannons on its back, raising its center of gravity. No, this would work. It had to work. Porter's shop had shortened the barrels for him. It'd cost him some range and most of the money from his parts. He just needed to mount the housing directly to the chest cavity and rework the Liger's armor.

Good thing he wasn't afraid of work.

"We can't afford to lose." He craned his neck to stare into the zoid's face. "Doc says I can pay him off with our share of the prize money." Minus repairs and tune-ups and food. The Doc was all heart. He'd driven a hard bargain for an unarmed zoid that wouldn't let anyone else pilot it. Five, six wins, should do it, fewer if they got into Class A. Better battles, better paychecks. As long as they didn't get destroyed along the way.

A deep rumble shook the air, the warmth pulsed in the back of his mind. He grinned at the feline zoid. "You don't like being the bottom of the totem pole either." The Liger shifted on its feet. His fingers twitched. "They'll see how much we're capable of and if they don't, we'll leave. Fight solo. Become a mercenary." How hard could it be? Brad wasn't losing any sleep at night. "Start our own team."

* * *

A/N: I appreciate reviews, especially when they help me improve. Slight changes have been made as reviewers pointed out some mistakes.


	2. The Would be King

Title: The One That Got Away

Episode 2: The Would Be King

A/N: No one's reading this.

* * *

Jamie sat at the Hover Cargo's main operations terminal. The screens were split among three feeds from the ZBC's aerial bots. He focused on his work station, where the battlefield topography was projected. It was too easy to get caught watching a zoid battle when he was part of it. Even if OPS was a thankless job.

"Bit! Get out of my line of fire!" Leena screeched over the com. Jamie overlaid the zoid positions, taken from the Hover Cargo's radar array, over the topography. The Liger Zero was already bounding away from the Dibison.

"The whole world isn't your line of fire!" Bit snapped back.

Jamie frowned. "They aren't much of a team, are they Doc?"

"Give it time, Jamie." Doctor Toros was unfazed and unconcerned. He arranged a Rev Raptor model on his command station, squaring it off against a Command Wolf.

Leena cursed as the Dibison took a hit to its right flank. "How do you like this?!" She pivoted the Dibison and unloaded all 17 assault cannons. The Sabre Tiger turned tail and bolted for cover.

The Liger was on it, running down the Sabre, firing as it went. Three bolts of superheated plasma slammed into the Sabre's backside. It stumbled but kept on its feet. The Liger kept firing, harrowing the Sabre until it was close enough to leap into the air and activate its laser claws.

"Battle over! Winner…the Blitz team!" The Judge declared.

The white zoid roared. Its pilot did the same.

Jamie pumped his fist. Another victory and only minimal damage to the Dibison! He opened the door to the lower bay and extended the ramp. "I gotta hand it to Bit. That plasma cannon is working out."

"Yes, it is." Doctor Toros smiled. "What it lacks in power it makes up for in speed. And with so little recoil, the Liger can fire on the move." He adjusted the Command Wolf's laser cannons. "Sometimes I forget Bit's smarter than he looks."

Jamie's eyes widened, he glanced back at the console.

"Doc, I can hear you." Bit's voice came over the com.

"Just take the compliment." Brad chimed in, in his usual cool tones. He was never going to change. The Command Wolf was the first to climb up the rear platform, meaning the battle was over and it was time to get paid.

* * *

Leena Toros stormed into the hanger. "Bit Cloud!"

Their resident parts thief was loading something, likely stolen from the last battlefield, into the back of his stupid truck. He didn't acknowledge her. He stood back from the truck and stared up at the Liger Zero. "I'd rather use the plasma cannon." The zoid gave a low rumble. Bit grinned at the zoid and closed one of the truck's panels. "There's always resale."

"Bit Cloud." Leena growled. She grabbed Bit by the shoulder. He turned to face her, his trademark clueless look on his face. She shoved him backward, into the side of the truck. She leaned in, nose to nose. "That was my Sabre! You stol-"

"Get away from her!" An irritatingly, frustratingly, familiar voice cried out. Harry sped across the hanger floor. At the last second he dug his heels into the ground, skidding to a stop. "I said," he gasped for breath, sucking in air, "stay…away… from Leena!"

Bit blinked. "Who are you?"

"I'm Harry Champ, Leader of the Champ team." Harry shouted. He raised a fist to the sky. "And the man destined to be king!"

"Ah, I see." The blond lowered his voice. "I'm confused."

"Of course you are." Leena muttered under her breathe. "What else is new?"

"Stop whispering to each other!" A vein pulsed on Harry's forehead.

Leena had to suppress a grin. Maybe there was a silver lining to this after all. She wrapped her arms around Bit's shoulders and leaned against him. "Don't mind him, sweetie."

Harry's mouth fell open. The color drained from his face. "Swee..etie?"

Bit tilted his head to stare at her. "Leena-"

"Bit." She pressed a finger to his lips. "We don't need to keep quiet anymore."

Harry fainted.

Leena patted Bit on the cheek. "We'll call this even." She turned on her heel and left the junker to his work.

* * *

Bit stared at the unconscious stranger. He didn't get Leena at all. Didn't matter, there was work to do. He'd "liberated" a shock cannon, triple barreled, from one of the fallen Sabres. With barely a scratch on it! A little elbow grease and it was ready for a trip to town. Between his latest find and the last two scavenging runs, it was worth heading into Romio City. Scavenging didn't make a lot of money but it added up. Bit hustled over to collect the rest of his parts from Leon's old bay. He'd try somewhere besides Porter's shop first, see if they were a little more generous with-

"Hey! Don't you run away from me!" Someone shouted. Everyone was so stressed out lately. "You! Bit!"

"Huh? Me?" Bit turned to find the same high strung stranger from before, back on his feet and pointing at him.

The stranger stomped up to him. "I challenge you to a duel!"

"What do I get if I win?"

"Leena! You idiot!" He screamed.

That sounded more like a punishment. "You can keep-" Bit paused. A duel wouldn't pay as much as a team battle but it'd all be his. Another paycheck, another step closer to freedom. "I'm not here to fight you in some parking lot. I'm here to win official battles."

"Fine then! Tomorrow. Dawn. An official battle. I'll put up five times the normal prize money if you win!" Harry's jaw clenched. "You won't. And when you lose, you stay away from Leena!"

Gladly. "See you there!" He was little too loud, a little too excited. Five times the prize money?! He'd never say another word to Leena if Harry paid him off on the spot.

Instead, Harry stormed out of the hanger, muttering under his breath.

Figured, he'd have to earn his money. Speaking of earning money, Bit grabbed a crate of parts and carried it back to his truck.

Brad Hunter was leaning against the side of the vehicle, arms crossed over his chest. "So you're clearly in the middle of something you don't understand, with someone you don't know," the mercenary glanced at him sidelong, "and you agree to take him on in a duel?"

"What's the problem?" Bit shoved the crate into the back of the truck with a grunt. The mercenary should have been patting him on the back, for keeping his eyes on the prize money. "Who's Harry… this guy anyway?"

"You don't think at all, do you?" Brad dropped his arms and faced Bit fully. "He's a wannabe zoid warrior, right around _your_ level." He mocked. "Only difference, he has a lot of money to play with." He turned his back and walked off. "I don't know who's the bigger joke."

* * *

 _The next day, dawn._

Jamie guided the Hover Cargo through the predawn gloom. They skirted the perimeter of an abandoned megacity. The old, worn, walls stood 10 stories high, looming over them. The battle coordinates led them to what was probably the city's main entrance, if the red Whale King parked outside was any indication.

Harry was waiting for them in a heavily armed and armored Dark Horn. A huge Gatling rifle was mounted over the stocky zoid's right side. An even larger high output beam launcher, longer than the zoid itself, was mounted to the left.

Jamie's heart sank. "Zoid battles should have weight classes." He opened the upper doors and activated the magnetic launcher. "Launcher ready."

"Mobilizing Liger Zero!" Bit called out.

The Liger Zero touched down onto the cracked desert floor. Instead of bounding off, it held its position, 50 meters in front of the Dark Horn. The white zoid looked barely armed. It was barely armed, with only a plasma cannon mounted to its chest. What was Bit thinking? If he was thinking…

An explosion echoed through the com.

The Judge pod had crashed down somewhere inside the city. A visual feed of the Judge pod filled the main screen. The upper section separated from the main body. The Judge rotated, turning to face the camera. "This area is a designated battle zone. All others must evacuate immediately." It raised both its arms. "Harry Champ vs Bit Cloud. Battle Mode 0973. Fight!"

The combatants took off running toward the city's entrance. The Liger Zero's boosters fired and it shot ahead. The Liger passed through the city gates with Harry's Dark Horn 200 meters behind. As the Dark Horn crossed the threshold its Gatling Rifle spun-

Bit cut his boosters and made a hard left, disappearing from view.

Jamie brought up the feeds from the aerial bots. One must have been positioned directly above the Dark Horn. The heavy zoid thundered down the cracked asphalt, Gatling rifle firing. The Liger turned left around a corner. Bullets ricocheted of the roads, ripped through old walls and buildings.

"My two latest suitors, locked in combat." Leena crowed from the Hover Cargo's support station, elbows resting on the desk, chin resting in her hands. "If only I didn't have this effect on men."

Jamie rolled his eyes. "Leena."

She gave a long dramatic sigh. "It's almost too much for a girl to manage."

"Leena! What happens if Harry wins?" He blinked. "What happens if Bit wins?"

"Easy! If Bit wins I make five times the prize money!" Doctor Toros was giddy. "We could install a high output shield generator on the Hover Cargo and give the Dibison a complete overhaul."

"Or trade it in!" Leena spun around in her seat. "They're fighting over me after all."

"Liger, when this is over, I'm getting you a tail gun." Bit growled, barely audible over the com.

The Dark Horn chased the Liger Zero down one street after another, firing as it went. The winding streets kept Bit from opening up the throttle, kept the Dark Horn close enough to fire on it. The Gatling Rifle hit hard, hit fast. It was easily the least of Bit's problems. The beam launcher could take him out in one shot.

The Liger ducked around another corner. The Dark Horn followed and pivoted hard. One side lifted from the ground. It tilted over precariously. Jamie dared to hope, until all four thrusters on the right side fired, righting the zoid. It barreled after its prey.

Something in Jamie's stomach twisted. "Harry's really put a lot of money into his Dark Horn."

"Jamie!" Bit shouted into the com. "I saw a zoid parking area on the radar. Can you find it?"

"Um… Sure. One second." He split the monitor across the different feeds. One of the bots hovered over what was once an industrial zone. A giant zoid parking structure was mostly intact. "Two blocks ahead, on your right."

"Perfect! Liger!" The Liger fired its boosters, hit the end of the block and made a hard right. It left the road, turned a corner, and bolted toward the huge structure.

The floating camera drifted closer, peaking into the various parking levels. The aerial bots were too clumsy to fly through the different levels so the concrete half walls blocked part of the Liger from view. But the fans didn't want to stare at the top of a building all day and it was the best the bot could do. The Liger ran up the ramp to the second level, the Dark Horn in pursuit. Left. Another ramp. Another level. Another left. Again, onto the next floor.

On the fifth floor, the Liger made a hard right, claws digging into the concrete. Its momentum took it too far, spun it around until it was facing the ramp exit just as the Dark Horn emerged onto the fifth floor.

The Liger opened fire, turning with the Dark Horn.

Five bolts of charged plasma slammed into the larger zoid's right flank. The Dark Horn barely shook from the assault but Harry was slow to activate the thrusters on its left flank, narrowly avoiding the concrete barrier. The Dark Horn turned, its Gatling Rifle spinning as it lined Bit up.

The Liger jumped back onto the ramp. The barrage missed high as the Liger ran back down to the lower level.

"Not looking good, Doc. The Dark Horn took only modest damage and mostly to its thrusters." He sighed.

"Yes." Doctor Toros grinned. "It's a solidly built zoid. Big, heavy, and loaded for combat."

Harry followed Bit down two more levels, banking hard with each left turn. The Liger raced down to the third floor, made a sharp left turn. What was Bit doing? The Dark Horn hit the third floor, turned left, and fired its thrusters.

They fired and sputtered and died.

Harry careened into the concrete half wall. The heavy zoid shattered the barrier. It teetered on the edge of the building, until the weight of its enhanced weapons dragged it over. "No!" Harry's strangled cry made Jamie wince. The Dark Horn fell head first into the ground. "Leena!"

Leena wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. "Goodbye Harry."

* * *

"How's the food?" The waitress stopped by their booth.

Bit chewed quickly and swallowed another bite of his burger. "Perfect." He grinned. A medium rare cheeseburger topped with onion straws and a side of steak fries… Even a junker could only go so far on instant noodles and canned beans. The Liger was his, way ahead of schedule. Thank you, Harry Champ.

The waitress flashed a quick smile and moved to another set of customers.

Across from him, Jamie fiddled with his straw, staring into the depths of his milkshake.

Bit polished off a few fries and reached for his beer. "What's wrong?" He should have insisted on buying Jamie one. Might settle his nerves. "Worried about the next battle?"

"No... Okay, yes. Sort of. Leena's zoid won't be ready in time. I'm more concerned about the loan we're going to have to take out for it." Jamie stared out the window. Across the promenade, a three story warehouse drew the eye away from the smaller shops and garages. The Leading Edge wasn't just the biggest Zoid dealer in town. They boasted they could obtain any zoid and equip any part, as long as you had the money.

It was the kind of place he knew not to bother when selling rebuilt parts.

Leena Toros was somewhere in there, hell bent on getting her hands on the most lethal killing machine imaginable. Bit reached for his beer. "The Doc won't let her get too crazy."

Something flashed across Jamie's face. "Umm, Bit. You don't really know Doctor Toros. He's the one I'm more worried about."

God have mercy on their souls.

"Her mind's set on a Gun Sniper." Jamie slumped down in his seat.

Gun Sniper.

Jamie sighed. "They're good zoids, a big step up from the Dibison."

Bit couldn't imagine Leena perched over the battlefield, waiting for her shot.

"They're expensive to start. Then there's the ammunition."

She didn't have Naomi's poise or her focus.

"You know how Leena is."

Leena wasn't blessed with Naomi's rack either. "Right." Bit nodded absently. He flagged down the waitress for the check. He finished his burger before she returned, paid for his food and Jamie's. He waved off Jamie's objection. Jamie was a good kid and since Leon left, the only one who'd made him feel welcome. Bit downed his beer and Jamie took his milkshake to go, probably felt obligated to since he paid for it.

They stepped outside into the sun. Bit stretched his arms overhead with a yawn. "Let's just focus on tomorrow's battle." He couldn't wait. Winning battles and keeping his paychecks, that's what being a zoid warrior was all about.

"I guess you're right." Jamie perked up a bit, from depressed to gloomy. He led the way to the shop. "I don't want to screw up."

"You'll do great." All Jamie had to do was not accidently shoot him or Brad, and Leena might end up running support from now on. They made their way toward the Leading Edge. The doors opened with a whisper. He froze just beyond the threshold. "Holy…"

He'd never been in a shop a third its size. Their lobby could have held a standard garage and then some. Digital panels were built into the walls, each showing a different zoid. The images changed, fully rendered base models turned into cross sections turned into highly modified units.

"Augmented Modeling." Jamie remarked. "Come on, the interactive ones are upstairs."

Bit followed him up to the third floor, trying not to gawk. Glass walls revealed offices along the perimeter of the room. Most of the floor space was divided into sitting areas: consisting of couches, armchairs, and a pedestal in the center. One such section was occupied by an older man and his teenage son. The pedestal was active, projecting a Dark Horn over their heads. A sales woman held a data panel in her hand. She touched the screen and two 40mm mini guns formed on its back.

"Wow." Bit whispered.

"Hmm?" Jamie followed his gaze. "If you can imagine it, they'll build it." They found an empty station. "That was a neat trick against Harry."

Bit grinned. "Thanks, Jamie. And thanks for the assist." The display hummed to life as he stepped in front of it. Finding the Liger base model was easy. Then it was menus full of menus. Entire setups, individual components. Everything from weapons to boosters to sensor arrays.

* * *

"We'll have it ready in a week Ms. Fluegel." The Edge rep, Carlos he'd insisted, set the work order in front of her. "That includes complimentary inspection and tune up."

A week? Another week sitting out battles. I couldn't be avoided. Installing the new weapons, reshaping the armor, it was a big job, with a big price tag. "I appreciate it." Naomi signed off on her paperwork and rose from her seat.

The rep was quick to rise and rushed to hold the office door open for her.

Naomi gave a polite smile as she stepped back onto the modeling floor. It was quieter than when she'd arrived, with most of the other clients gone. Had she been in there so long? Images hovered over the few active displays, a Dark Horn, a Whale King, even a Liger.

And a familiar blond head in front of it.

Bit Cloud stood at a terminal. She took the long way around one party, putting herself at Bit's back. He scrolled through a menu, eyes glued to the projection as it shimmered and morphed, updating the model.

She could have whispered into his ear before he noticed her. "Someone's moving up in the world."

Bit snapped out of his trance. "Naomi?" A boyish grin spread across his face. "What are you doing in a mom and pop shop?"

Her lips quirked. "Can't afford to be a snob. You never know what you'll find." That included information on the competition.

Naomi rose onto her toes, peeking over Bit's shoulder. Thrusters were strategically placed along the Liger's shoulders, its rear legs, but little else. Too streamlined to be complete. Except, there was basic armor in place. A larger mane wrapped around the zoid's neck, extended over the shoulders.

Bit leaned into her view, still smiling. "Interested in melee combat?" His green eyes might have twinkled.

Naomi pursed her lips. "Not exactly." She'd never seen Bit less than upbeat and something had him in a particularly good mood today. It suited him. She skirted around him, standing shoulder to shoulder next to the display. "Here for an upgrade." Or three.

"Will I get to see it?"

Soon enough. She glanced up at him. "We can arrange something."

"You're Naomi Fluegel." A brown haired teen gaped at her.

She leaned forward, craning her neck to see around Bit. "I am."

"Naomi Fluegel, Jamie Hemeros. The Blitz team's chief strategist and ace pilot." Bit nodded toward the younger teen. "Say hi, Jamie."

"Ah, hello." Jamie could barely meet her eyes.

"Hello." She tried to be reassuring. The kid couldn't have been more than fifteen. "You guys are doing well. Who's the next unlucky team?"

Jamie's face fell. "We've got the Viper team tomorrow morning." The kid toyed with the cuffs of his jacket.

The Vipers had a lot of firepower, could be rough for a flyer. She wanted to ask if he was up for that but the kid looked like he wasn't up for the conversation.

"He's gonna do great." Bit clapped the kid on the shoulder. "Jamie." Jamie looked up from his sleeves. "Liger and I have your back."

The kid perked up, if only slightly. "Thanks, Bit."

"Hey! Guys!" Their teammate, the young woman with short red, almost pink hair, cut a path directly toward them. "Let me show you! You gotta see!" Dressed in a yellow top and a pale green skirt, she shoved Jamie aside. She set a round holodisk over the pedestal and bounced on her feet, causing two floating hair accessories to bob.

The Liger disappeared, replaced by a two legged zoid. Heavy weapons were mounted above and below each arm. Missile pods stood over each shoulder, flanking a raptor shaped head. A Gun Sniper? The projection rotated. The zoid's tail was there, though it sat so low the rifle couldn't have been built in.

"Four missile pods, two Beam Gatling Guns, two Triple Launchers…" Jamie paled as he rattled off the monstrosity's ordinance. "What the heck is a Weasel Assault Unit?!"

"I don't know what that is but it isn't a Gun Sniper." Naomi crossed her arms, turning to face the Blitz Team and away from the caricature of a zoid.

"What did you say?! What's wrong with my zoid?!" Little Miss Princess snapped.

Naomi gave her a flat look. "Do you even know what sniper means?"

"Do you know what overly specialized means?" The pinkette planted her hands on her hips. "It bit you in the ass last time."

Bitch.

"I was out maneuvered. Doesn't happen often." Or ever before. Naomi kept her eyes on the spoiled brat in front of her and not on Bit. She'd avenge that loss. Soon. She put her hands on her hips, mirrored the girl's posture. "How many kills did you get?"

"The Dibison wasn't up for that kind of battle. Only six shot-"

Naomi scoffed. "Blaming the zoid?" Surprise. Surprise. "You're all talk."

"Then take me on." Leena's lips curled into an obnoxious smirk. "Unless you're scared. I don't blame you."

Her jaw clenched. "One on one? Or is your team going to carry you again?"

"Stop! Leena, we don't even-" Jamie sputtered. "Bit!"

Bit had the kid by the back of his jacket, was hauling him off. "Stay out of this Jamie."

* * *

"Stay out of this Jamie." Bit dragged Jamie toward the office area.

"Name the time and place!" Behind him, Leena snarled.

He grabbed Jamie by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Never, ever, get in the middle of a cat fight!"

"But how are we- What?! Bit are you serious?" Jamie looked at him like he was crazy. He was going to have an anxiety attack at this rate. "What if Leena loses? We don't even have the zoid yet and she's picking fights!"

Bit shrugged. "Good point." Behind Jamie, inside the office, Doctor Toros was hunched over a desk, a pen in hand and a smile on his face. Bit gestured over Jamie's shoulder. "The Doc seems confident." A woman with blonde hair and a revealing blouse uncorked a bottle. She filled two slender glasses. "Are they drinking champagne? Think we can-"

"No!" Jamie pounded on the window. "Doctor Toros!"

The Doc waved back and lifted his champagne glass.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to those that reviewed. Because of them I decided to post another chapter.


	3. Jack Cisco & High Speed Battle

Title: The One That Got Away

Episode 3 - If I give you a preview it'll spoil part of the chapter.

A/N: Well, I've never gotten so many reviews per chapter, ever. Not even close. I was going to hold off a little longer on this chapter. Because of all the reviews I decided to post it early. The next chapter should be up in two weeks.

* * *

Bit Cloud milled about the patrons of Porter's shop. A fair number of people for early afternoon. Then again, what did he know? He could call a Beam Gun from a Linear Laser Gun from a Beam Launcher at two kilometers. But he had no idea when desk jockeys liked to go part shopping. He glanced over the available stock as best he could without being in anyone's way.

Most of the inventory, at least what he remembered, hadn't changed. The Double Barrel Rifle stood in the same corner. The Sonic Cannon was gone, sold or moved, who could tell? A set of Wing Swords were new. The two curved wing blades flanked a single straight edged top blade. Beside them, hung a familiar pair of Laser Blades…

Still there, still the same price. A month of scavenging or a couple battles and he could buy them. If they were still there he could try negotiating the price down. Try being the operative word. Liger parts were so rare. Ligers were so rare. They weren't Gun Snipers or Command Wolves. Porter wasn't going to budge. Either way, he'd have to adapt the mounts, rework the armor. No problem. It was just…

To his left, the Wing Swords gleamed, likely freshly polished. Maybe they were newly built or maybe Porter was hiding a broken down Storm Sworder out back. Didn't matter. The design just worked, felt right. Aligning the swords to the front edge of the wings, slicing through enemy zoids as the Storm Sworder arced gracefully through the air.

Whose idea was it to mount blades to a Liger mid chassis? There had to be better way. Bit sighed. He was junker, not an inventor. Whoever came up with it, had their reasons, and were a lot smarter than him.

"Bit Cloud?" Porter walked up to him, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. He extended a hand. "I'm Porter, the-"

"We've met before." Bit shook the man's hand, hiding a grimace as the older man squeezed. Porter was no stranger to hard work.

"Right." The shop owner didn't bat an eye. "Selling a Triple Barrel Shock Cannon, two Ion Chargers… And you ordered a 108mm High Density Beam Gun for a," he glanced at the data pad, "Liger Zero?" Porter held the data pad out to him. "Never heard of one of those." Porter waved to a young man with a pallet jack, carrying a single wooden crate.

Bit took the data pad and signed off on the transaction. Porter drove a hard bargain, did not like to overpay for used parts. Oh well, when it was all said and done, he'd walk away with the new tail gun and some credits in his pocket. "You sold me a Triple Barreled Plasma Cannon for it a couple weeks ago."

"Heh? Really? For a ground zoid?" Porter scratched the white whiskers on his cheek. "How's it working out for you?"

Great for him, not so great for the last Sabre Tiger who'd lost a Shock Cannon. "Not bad."

"Glad to hear it. This is a little more run of the mill." Porter gestured to the approaching employee. "Sure as hell make 'em think twice about running up behind your Hellcat."

"Liger Zero…"

Porter slapped him on the shoulder. "Take care!" Then the older man was on his way back to the front of the shop.

Bit, never one to sweat the small stuff, just shrugged his shoulders. He helped the clerk load the Beam Gun into the back of his truck. It was heavier than expected. Then again, everything on an 80 ton zoid was heavy.

It was a long and boring drive back to the Blitz team's base. Nothing new, he was comfortable with it, plodding along in a rattling old truck. At least, he used to be. It wasn't the silence. The radio had been broken for months and he'd never thought twice about it. Bit sighed. The truck was just empty. With a turn of the steering wheel, he left the main road. The truck did as he wanted, rolling smoothly over the dirt road. The steering wheel didn't make his fingertips tingle. He couldn't feel the sand under their feet as they raced across the desert. As soon as he got the new gun installed he'd take the Liger out for a run.

The base came into view, first the hanger and then the main compound. Bit grinned, opening up the throttle just a-

A Darkhorn, armed with a Gatling Rifle and a Beam Launcher, stood outside. It towered over his truck as he passed it and pulled into the hanger. Hopefully, Harry was in a better mood than last time.

Harry was in the center of the hanger, talking to Leena, or trying to. Her back was to him, arms crossed over her chest.

Jamie stood on a lift, working on the Dibison. One of its missile pods sat on the ground beside it. The buyer must not have paid for the ordinance. Such a waste. An hour alone with that zoid and he'd have enough money to refit the Liger.

Bit stopped in front of the Liger's bay. "What's up Harry?" Harry didn't so much as glance at him, too busy trying to dart around to Leena's face.

"Harry just challenged us to another battle." Jamie called down from his perch.

Oh. Bit opened the back of his truck. He pulled the crate partially off the bed of the truck and froze. Bad idea. "Mind giving me a hand with this?" He grunted to the not-so-happy couple.

It was Jamie that helped, climbing down from the lift to grab the other end of the crate. "Got it."

"Thanks. Right over here." They shuffled their way to the Liger's bay and set the crate down. Bit turned back to Harry and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, Harry. I wouldn't get any points." Harry didn't seem like a bad guy but he couldn't keep fighting the same opponents, especially lower ranked teams. Then again, there was always the money.

Harry whirled to face him. "Ha! Don't worry about that! I've got a new team and a powerful new mercenary on my side." The so-called prince marched across the hanger floor. He smirked. "You've heard of Jack Cisco."

"Who's Jack Cisco?" Bit dug a crowbar out of the side compartment of his truck. "And who's the new mercenary?" He wedged it underneath the lid of the crate.

"Jack Cisco is the mercenary!"

Bit leveraged the crowbar against all four sides of the lid before it sprung free. "Oh, why didn't you just say so?"

A vein on Harry's forehead started to pulse. The guy was way too tense. "That's exactly what I-"

"Ha!" Leena stormed toward them. "Jack Cisco or not, we'll take you on!"

Harry spun on his heel, turning to face the redhead. His eyes darted from her back to him. "Leena?"

"Two days and I'll have my new Gun Sniper." She planted both hands on her hips. "Prove you're a new man!"

He raised a fist toward the sky. "Just you wait Leena!" Harry ran back to his Darkhorn. He jumped into the cockpit. The zoid's head rose and his voice boomed through the speaker. "Two days! Then you'll see!" The ground trembled as the heavy zoid turned a tight circle and disappeared into the horizon.

All Bit could do was shrug his shoulders. The High Density beam gun sat in its crate. He stared up at the Liger Zero. "Got something for you partner, as promised." A low rumble shook the air, thrummed through the back of his skull pleasantly. Agreement. Amusement. Bit grinned. He ran a hand over the tail gun. Unlike the plasma cannon, it was designed for a Liger. Which meant a lot less work and getting to sleep at a reasonable hour.

"Hey Bit," Jamie was back on the lift, fiddling with the Dibison, "can you give me a hand pulling down the missile pods?"

Leena had left. Brad had never been around.

"Sure thing." He called back. Bit flashed the Liger Zero an apologetic smile. "Just a sec, couple hours at the most."

* * *

 _Two Days Later_

Naomi stepped into the bathroom and peeled the sweat soaked clothing from her skin. The shower, like the bathroom, like the hotel room, was small and plain. At least it beat camping out or living out of her Gustav.

The life of a wandering zoid warrior wasn't all glamorous.

If nothing else, the hotel had an exercise room. A private garage would have been nice, nice to put down roots. For now, a hotel in Romio City worked well enough. It was convenient, what with her Gun Sniper getting refit close by.

Cleaned and primped, she changed into a dress rather than her piloting outfit. Helios was a popular restaurant, with civilians and zoid warriors alike, but it had a dress code. A great place to watch a match, with less testosterone than the most of the Zoid bars. The restaurant was filling up when she arrived. Luck was on her side. She checked in with the hostess and managed to snag a table outside of the bar area but with a good view of its screens. Naturally, all were tuned to the Zoid Battle Network.

A waitress set a glass of water in front of her. "Can I get you a lunch menu?"

"Just your desert menu and the wine list."

An image of a white Liger flashed across one of the screens. The Liger suddenly lurched to one side. A pair of fangs burst up from the desert floor. The Liger dug in its claws, sliding away. The Viper's body followed, rising into the sky. The would-be ambusher caught empty air. The Liger pounced, digging into the Viper's armor with its claws, its teeth. The two zoids rolled along the ground.

The image cut to a Pteras making an overly cautious strafing run on two Stealth Vipers **.** Firing from well beyond its range, it scored a lucky shot as it peppered the area. The Stealth Vipers rose onto their tails, turned to track the flyer. The Pteras was already in retreat before they could return fire. The Liger and the Command Wolf fanned out and made short work of the distracted zoids.

Barely a 30 second clip, not bad for a Class B team.

The Zoids Battle Network logo appeared. The image dissolved, revealing a pair of commentators sitting behind a desk.

The first anchor, a woman with blonde hair, smiled into the camera. "Today's next match is from Class B. We have the Blitz team against the Champ team."

"The Blitz have motivation on their side," her cohost, the retired zoid warrior Derek Yosen, added. The former Royal Cup Champion, five years into his retirement, graying slightly at the temples, he stared into the camera as easily as he stared down so many foes. "A win would advance them to Class A. If they can get passed the Champ team and their hired gun, Jack Cisco."

Jack Cisco, as hired guns went, he was arguably the best, hands down the most expensive.

"Let's see how the teams stack up." The blonde woman cut in.

Images of the Liger, the Command Wolf, and the joke of a Gun Sniper, appeared on the left of the screen, with their pilots names listed below. The Champ team was displayed on the right, fielding two Cannon Tortoises and a Lightning Saix.

"The story of the day is Jack Cisco." The female anchor continued. Indeed, the mercenary lead all warriors in points, by a wide margin. "With over 10 years of experience, known for his high speed combat style. He's a big addition to the Champ team."

The rosters disappeared, replaced by an aerial view of open and largely, flat terrain. The ground rushed up to meet the camera, as if it was a Judge Satellite falling out of the sky. Gimmicky but no one asked her. Three different angles of the battlefield flashed across the screens.

One of the feeds caught the Blitz team's snail shaped hover cargo, sitting at the edge of the field. The top bay doors were open, revealing their magnetic launcher.

"Should be a good match. Blitz team's won four straight." Someone piped up from the table behind her.

"That ends today." A gruff second voice countered.

A Command Wolf launched from the transport's upper deck. It touched down and slowly made its way forward. Brad Hunter. He'd taken out her very inexperienced teammates. Handsome, in an unkempt way.

The second speaker started up again. "Jack's never lost. Blitz team is in over their heads. I'll put down five large. Any takers?"

The Liger leapt from the launch catapult and charged across the battlefield. Bit Cloud was probably grinning.

"Done."

The transport's lower door opened and a ramp extended. The "Gun Sniper" ran down, trailing behind the Command Wolf. Far ahead of them, Bit brought the Liger to a stop. The white zoid threw its head back and roared. Bit was definitely grinning.

The feed zoomed out, revealing the three Blitz Team zoids standing in the middle of an empty desert. Almost empty, several hundred meters out, a lone Lightning Saix made its way toward them.

Interesting.

"Area scanned. Battlefield Setup." The Judge's artificial voice echoed through the restaurant.

The waitress returned with glass of wine and a decadent Chocolate Truffle brownie.

"The Champ Team VS The Blitz Team. Battle Mode 0982. Ready Fight!"

Naomi tore her eyes away from the dessert's moist depths as the ground erupted. Dirt and dust filled the air.

The Saix burst into motion, laser rifles firing.

The Gun Sniper took a hit, almost dead center. The Liger and Command Wolf returned fire. The Saix was long gone, circling out wide and away from the confused trio.

The shelling continued, raining across the battlefield, with no obvious target. Cisco brought the Saix around for another pass. The Saix fired, catching the Command Wolf in the flank. The Command Wolf stumbled and bounded away.

"I knew it. Jack's Saix is untouchable."

Toros emptied one of her missile pods. The Saix was long gone before the missiles slammed into the ground, kicking up more dirt and only adding to the confusion. New zoid, same deadweight… Naomi smirked. Her own Gun Sniper would be ready in a day. If Toros didn't wreck her zoid today, she'd do it for her in their duel. Easy money.

Cisco circled back in a wide arc, bringing-

The Liger shot forward. Even in mid stride, it fired a three shot burst from a plasma cannon mounted to its chest.

That was new, an interesting little setup. Naomi raised her wine glass to her lips. New weapon, mounted low on the body, firing as it ran. It paid to do your homework.

Cisco angled away from the Liger and the shots narrowly missed to his right. Then the Saix sped off. The Liger raced after it, firing as it went. Its boosters activated, for a second it gained on the slender Saix. Cisco responded, throwing the zoid into top gear and opening up the distance between them. Bit fired again, putting two shots on the Lightning Saix. Cisco easily veered away from the plasma bolts.

They left the rest of the Blitz team behind.

Another aerial bot found two Cannon Tortoises on the edge of the field. It zoomed in on their position while the first followed the two high speed zoids. The Tortoises stood less than a stone's throw apart. Their standard payloads were replaced with Large Bore Heavy Cannons. The recoil rocked their stalwart frames with every shot.

Bit continued to fire, volley after volley, without success. Some missed to the right of the Saix, others to the left, as Cisco made minor course adjustments.

"I told you. He's got nothing for Jack." The gruff voice gloated.

Cisco drifted left, forcing two plasma bolts to sail harmlessly by on his right. Two more bolts, on the right, missed by a wide margin as the Saix veered further left. Then two more and two more and two more, all to right.

Directly toward one of the Tortoises.

All six plasma bolts hammered into the lumbering zoid. The armored shell weathered the attack easily. The Heavy Cannon did not. Something blew out along its rails. The firing mechanism seized. The Liger bore down on it, putting six more bolts into the weapon. Smoke rose from the rear of the Heavy Cannon. A spark came off-

The explosion shook the Tortoise, cracked its armored frame, and left it holding the smoldering wreckage of the cannon.

Someone at the bar hooted.

"Lucky break! Jack will get em."

Cisco was already angling the Saix back to the Liger but no zoid could turn a corner at that speed.

Bit slammed the brakes. The slower speed, the Liger's wider stance… It slid, digging its claws into the ground. It darted toward the remaining Tortoise, without using its boosters, moving slower, putting more shots on its target. The Tortoise managed to turn toward the Liger, offering it the smallest profile of its cannon. It was too slow to do much else and the cannon would never fire at a low enough angle to fight back.

Behind Bit, the Saix ate up the battlefield, zeroing in on the Liger.

The Liger's white mane expanded, golden light rolled off its head, along its claws. It closed in on the helpless Tortoise and leapt high into the air.

The Saix's laser cannons fired.

The boosters on the back of the Liger flared to life, pushing it forward, changing its trajectory, and dodging the laser fire as easily as he'd dodged her bullet.

Naomi sat back, crossing her arms over her stomach. She was done underestimating Bit Cloud.

The Liger sheared the Heavy Cannon in half and touched down on all fours.

"Then there was one!" The first voice.

"Jack will get him." The other grumbled.

But Jack Cisco didn't get him.

The Liger pivoted sharply. Cisco passed within 20 meters and didn't fire a shot, couldn't fire around the wrecked Tortoise. The Liger charged down the battlefield at full speed, away from the already turning Saix. Bit got four hundred meters ahead before Cisco completed the turn and threw the Saix into top gear, steadily closing on the white zoid.

It wouldn't be enough.

The room, full of seasoned zoid warriors, all in various levels of sobriety, grew quiet as the outcome went from likely to inevitable.

Bit kept the Liger moving erratically, firing on the approaching Saix with a tail mounted beam gun. The shots went wide, had no chance of hitting the skilled mercenary. It so clearly wasn't the point. A Saix had a very limited firing range, less than 10 degrees off dead center. Cisco fought to line up his shot, to match the Liger's movements, to evade the incoming fire.

On the aerial view the Command Wolf and Gun Sniper rushed to meet the Liger.

Cisco wouldn't take the Liger in time. Bit would break toward his teammates, pass in front of their line of fire. Cisco would follow and get picked off.

Indeed, the Command Wolf came to a stop, widened its stance. The long range cannon shifted down, lowering its firing angle.

The ground exploded in front of the Liger. It lurched to one side and leapt over the crater. A second missile crashed down behind it. A third slammed into the Liger's flank. It stumbled, lost its footing-

The Gun Sniper, well in the rear. All its missile pods were open. A second volley of missiles soared through the air. The idiot dumped her entire payload, peppering the battlefield, with no regard for friend or foe or _teammate_. Through the smoke and the dirt, the white zoid tumbled, end over end.

Someone gave a long whistle. "Talk about unfriendly fire!"

Ass.

When the barrage finally ended, the Liger lay on its side, its armor battered, blackened, or missing. Smoke rose from the downed zoid.

"Winner! The Blitz Team!" The Judge declared.

The Saix was down, from what she couldn't say. The feed cut to the battle report and the point distribution. The Liger was at the top, credited for taking out both Tortoises. The Command Wolf was second, for the Saix. Toros' Gun Sniper was third, with zero points.

"Too bad teammates don't count!" The same drunk, flipping through a stack of cash. He caught her gaze and flashed her a smile. Naomi turned away before he got the wrong idea.

The battle report disappeared from the screen, replaced by the ZBC logo. The logo dissolved, revealing the network hosts behind their desk.

"Ouch. Talk about unfriendly fire!" The blonde ditz remarked. Her cohost, Yosen, gave her a blank look. She gave a fake laugh then cleared her throat. "We certainly hope there are no serious injuries."

"Absolutely." Yosen faced the camera. "It's been a rough start to the season. Only two months in and as many deaths. This is why the Zoid Battle Commission stresses the importance of observing all-"

The ZBC logo flashed across the screen. A Hellcat... or a Sabre fired on something. At those speeds, bouncing around inside the cockpit- Zoid battles were dangerous. Everyone knew that. More so when your own teammates attacked you. Naomi reached for her wine glass, her mouth suddenly dry.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to everyone that reviewed. I really appreciate constructive criticism. (Suggesting I rewrite the story with a different couple isn't really constructive.) The story definitely needs some tweaking. Several people pointed out there were mistakes. First off, yes there are mistakes. I'm working on them. Thanks to Gundam Wing Zero for pointing me to some better source material and providing specific information. Second, none of the characters have perfect information. Don't take what they say or think as gospel. At this point, no one on the planet knows the Liger Zero is an Ultimate X. Everyone just writes it off as a variation on the Shield or Blade Liger models. Any thoughts on the combat? Did Naomi's PoV feel genuine?


	4. Friendly Strangers and Broken Promises

Title: The One That Got Away

Episode 4: With Friends Like These...

A/N: Wow. I've never gotten so many reviews per chapter. Thanks for waiting. To answer some questions, we will not see the same armors as the anime. You'll see something very similar to the Schneider but with a few modifications. Eventually. We haven't gotten to that point. Also, the Backdraft have yet to appear on the scene. Or more precisely, the Blitz team has yet to encounter them.

* * *

Bit pumped the brake and guided his truck off the main road. A simple dirt trail led to a small circular lot, with nothing more than a fire pit and a picnic table. He parked at the edge of the campsite. He opened the door, grabbed the steering wheel with one hand, and eased himself out of the driver seat. A dull ache flared in his side. He scowled, turned back to the truck, and slammed the door shut. He opened the gate at the back of the truck. A duffel bag, a bedroll, and a cooler, were the only contents. He grabbed the duffel bag, threw it over his shoulder-

His ribs screamed, fire lanced through his side. The bag hit the ground. Bit slumped against the side of his truck, resting his head against the cool metal and taking shallow breaths. Damn it. He was done. Stupid to think he could salvage anything like this. Tomorrow he'd head back to Romio City, wait for the shop to finish the work on the Liger. He was still catching his breath when a car horn beeped twice. A polished green jeep turned off the main road.

The jeep stopped alongside his truck. A middle aged man with short dark hair waved from the driver's seat. "Hey there! This site full?"

Bit gave a shake of his head. "It's just me."

The stranger stepped out of his car. A big man, easily a head taller than Bit and wider across the shoulders. He slung a backpack over one shoulder and gestured to the duffel bag on the ground. "Need a hand?"

Helpful strangers were rare on the road. But Bit Cloud tried to see the best in life. And sadly, he needed the help. "Yeah. Mind grabbing it?"

The stranger hoisted it easily, carrying it over to the picnic table.

"Thanks." Bit followed along behind. He took a seat at the table, carefully, and opened his duffel bag. He unpacked his camping stove and his mess kit.

The stranger set his pack on the table. He pulled out a thermos, popped off the cup that served as a lid. "I've seen you before." He set the cup and thermos down. He snapped his fingers. "You're a zoid warrior!"

More or less, less at the moment, what with the Liger in the shop. "My name's Bit." He extended his hand.

The stranger wrapped one of his mitts around Bit's hand, gave a firm handshake. "Call me Laon."

* * *

"Open the feed on your end." Jamie called up. Then he reset the dials on the diagnostic rig. How did he always end up doing this? Brad was paid more. He should have been doing this, except just couldn't be bothered. Or Doctor Toros. He was the only one that could talk some sense into his daughter. Bit… It was anyone's guess when he'd come back.

"Geez, don't bite my head off!" Leena was probably glaring at him from the Gun Sniper's cockpit. "There."

He didn't react to the outburst. "Syncing up." Despite the battered frame, the cracked screens, all the readouts came up as green. "Downloading." Data from the zoid core filtered across his screens. Full function of limbs, sensor calibration. "Everything checks out."

"Finally." She grumbled. "All that's left is to resupply-"

"Doc asked me to analyze our last battle against Naomi before we hit the road." Not that Leena would listen to any strategies he came up with. It was okay. Doctor Toros didn't really ask. Leena could refit the Gun Sniper's missile pods by herself.

"Jami-"

He didn't wait for an answer, turning on his heel and heading back to the living quarters.

"If Bit was half the pilot he thought he was, he'd be fine." She called after him. There was less bite to it than last time, when she and Bit were at each other's throats, before Bit stormed off. Maybe she even believed it, wouldn't surprise him.

Doctor Toros had laid claim to the common room. He'd layered the table in pages torn from countless copies of Champ Industry magazines. At least they were good for something. A freshly painted Heldigunner, minus its typical payload, was set aside from the others. A Storm Sworder, in plain gray tones, was starting to take shape. He held a wing in one hand and an air brush in the other. An unopened box, bearing the image of a Whale King, sat at the foot of the table. As far as the doc's buying sprees went, zoid models were a blessing.

Jamie gave the table a wide berth. If he ran even one simulation no one could call him a liar.

The doctor didn't look up from his work. "No time for sad faces, Jamie! Especially not you."

"Need something Doc?" The Doctor was his father's oldest friend but he didn't stand on ceremony.

Doctor Toros didn't look up from his model. "I need you to keep your skills sharp. We could have a battle by the end of the week."

His stomach twisted. "I don't know if I'm ready." He'd managed to not screw up against the Vipers, and, while he hated to admit it, he was proud of that.

"No choice. Bit needs a week of rest. Doctor's orders!"

"You're not a medical doctor." Doctor Sanders had said three weeks rest. Wherever Bit was, no way was he resting.

"Now, now, Jamie. The point is, we're in Class A, no easy battles."

"Right, Doc." He jabbed the door release and headed for the war room.

* * *

Laon poured himself a full cup of whiskey from his thermos. He grinned into his mug. It was all too easy. It was an impulse, to meet the kid, to talk to him face-to-face, before taking him prisoner. Worst case, he'd overpower him. True, Laon was a scientist, not a thug. Bit Cloud was a fit young man, twenty years his junior, and clearly no stranger to manual labor. Just as clearly, he was injured. The kid's movements were awkward, stiff. He braced his hands against the table each time he raised or lowered himself into his seat.

As trusting as the kid was, you almost felt sorry for him.

The blond rifled through his bag for something. They'd stitched up the side of his face. Most have taken him to a pro. The torn skin was still inflamed but stitches were tight, evenly spaced. Toros was so spineless he turned green at the sight of blood.

"Give this a try?" Laon held out his thermos.

Bit held the thermos under his nose for a second. He poured himself a third of a cup and took a sip. "Thanks." He coughed, his eyes started to water. He passed the thermos back, set his cup on the picnic table, and fiddled with a camping stove.

"What's it like on the Blitz team?" Shit. He grimaced. Kid never mentioned his team's name.

"I wouldn't know." Bit muttered. He lit the stove and placed a kettle on top of it. "I'm just the hired help." He spat the words out.

Laon raised an eyebrow. "Really?" Trouble in paradise? He added a few more ounces to Bit's cup. "Tell me more."

* * *

They set out in the Hover Cargo just after lunch. Jamie said nothing as he guided it through the security fencing and brought it up to speed. He settled in for a long drive. Hopefully, a quiet one. Jamie sighed. Bit was, well, missing was the only way to describe it. Brad had refused to come, claiming there was no money in it for him. Stoic as the mercenary was, he was likely avoiding three hours of tense silence.

Too bad he didn't think of that.

Behind him, Doctor Toros sat with his chin resting in his hands, eyes on the road. His new Storm Sworder model sat on the console in front of him, not yet dry. Even Leena was silent, not badmouthing Bit or boasting about how she'd wipe the floor with the "overrated" Red Comet.

Three uneventful hours later they were close to the town of Rotheran.

Town was being generous. It more of a village, out in the middle of nowhere. It had few natural resources and little in the way of farmland, most of the territory was too rocky, the soil to thin. Fortunately, the inhospitable and rugged environment lent itself well to zoid battles.

The Zoid Battle Commission's outpost was set well away from the town. A single story building, sat in the middle of a large dirt lot. At first glance it could have been anything, could have been abandoned. Except for the communications array that towered over the building.

"Jamie." Doctor Toros held his newest model gingerly. He gestured with his free hand. "See if anyone's home."

"Right, doc." He opened a com line.

Almost immediately, the line went live. The ZBC's logo flashed onto the screen. "Rotheran facility." A surprisingly chipper voice answered.

Doctor Toros cleared his throat. "We're the Blitz team. We have a scheduled battle today."

"Blitz team." The disembodied voice murmured. "Here we are. Against the Fluegel team. Battle Mode 0992. Is that correct?"

"It is."

"Sending battlefield coordinates." A map of the region appeared on the screen. A rectangular battle zone, hemmed in on one side by a range of mountains, was clearly marked, 20 kilometers further north. "You are to check in following the match to complete your battle record."

Leena cracked her knuckles. "And collect my prize money!"

"Understood, thank you." Doctor Toros closed the com line. "Jamie, let's go."

* * *

"I can win their battles for them, do all the grunt work." Bit rambled. "Doesn't stop em from charging me for using the equipment. Liger won't let anyone else pilot him and the Doc still ripped me off!"

Laon jumped to his feet, spilling whiskey onto his shirt. "That is exactly like Toros!" He threw back what was left of his drink. Then he found the thermos and refilled both their cups. "I'm glad I didn't blow up your truck."

Bit took another drink. "Thanks…wait what?"

"Don't worry about it." Laon raised his mug. "To new friends!"

"To new friends." Bit copied the gesture. Then he placed a kettle on the grate, swaying as he stood. The kid was well on his way to being drunk. "I thought I'd win them over. Oh no. Never going to happen."

"So why haven't you left?"

The kid deflated, shoulders slumped, head bowed. "I just paid off the Liger. Thanks to some not so friendly fire, I spent a lot fixing it. Trying to put together a weapon system. Custom job, crazy expensive."

Laon's lips curled into a smirk. "Don't know how to strike out on your own?"

"I know how to be a drifter and a junker…" Bit stared up into the night sky. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Being a mercenary shouldn't be too different."

Laon let the comment go. The kid was what, 17? Young to be a drifter. He swirled his whiskey in his mug. No happy story there. "Those were some nice moves against the Champ team." He finally broke the silence. It was true. The kid had carried the Blitz team through that battle, right up until it went to shit.

Bit dragged a sleeve across his face. "Thanks. I was worried. Cisco's Saix had me and Liger eating dust."

The kettle started to whistle. Bit rooted through his duffel bag. "Hungry? I've got some ramen cups."

Ramen cups. Laon's stomach growled. "I ah, wouldn't mind."

A minute later Bit had two cups filled with hot water. He opened a vacuum sealed four pack of eggs. He cracked an egg and mixed it into his cup. Bit held an egg out to him. "Here."

Laon took the egg but made no move to break it.

"It's great." Bit raised a forkful of noodles to his mouth. "Give it a try."

He cracked the egg, mixed it, yolk and all, with his ramen. He stirred it in, blowing gently on the surface. He took a cautious taste. Flavor exploded on his tongue. A richer broth raised the flavor profile, complimented the firm and supple noodles. So many years, thinking he was a ramen purist. He'd been a fool. He slurped another mouthful of pure bliss. "Bit, what kind of weapons you have in mind?"

* * *

Leaves shifted as Leena's Gun Sniper crept through the forest. She stepped into an open patch. The sun glinted off the slope of the raptor's head. Jamie swallowed. Nothing. No shot. The Gun Sniper passed back under the canopy. He exhaled slowly. "Leena be careful. You have to stick to cover."

The Red Comet was somewhere out there. Odds are, she was already in sniping mode, watching and-

"Don't tell me how to fight my battles!" The Red Loose Cannon snapped through the com.

Jamie rolled his eyes. He tightened the camera's field of vision to half a quadrant and amped up the resolution. He skipped over the nearest and deepest parts of the forest. The ZBC wouldn't have started both teams in such close proximity to each other. Besides, he'd need a miracle to find Naomi's Gun Sniper through the heavy foliage, red paint job or not. "Naomi could be anywhere." He muttered to himself. The forest thinned as it stretched back toward the base of the mountain. Unlikely, but it was a start.

"Besides." Leena scoffed. "She's predictable. She's on the highest peak." The Gun Sniper burst out of the forest running directly toward the base of the mountain.

"Leena, keep to the forest!"

"No way! My firepower's wasted in there." Leena leveled both her Laser Gatlings on the ridge. The guns spun up, showering the highest peak with laser fire. "I just have to keep her pinned down until I'm closer." She charged forward.

"1600 meters. 1400 meters." Jamie's heart raced. What was she thinking? "1100 meters. You're in range!"

The Gun Sniper paused just long enough for all four of her shoulder mounted pods opened. The Weasel unit on her back deployed. Then she was moving again, never letting up with her Gatlings. The missiles streaked through the air, rained down onto the highest ridge. At 700 meters orange light gathered at the tips of her launchers. Leena came to a stop. The anchors on the Gun Sniper's feet deploye-

A flash of light, from a lower peak. A single bullet slammed into the Gun Sniper, low on the body, echoing like a thunderclap. The readout on Jamie's screen flashed red. The zoid lurched to its right. It listed to further, began to fall over when a second bullet caught it in the chest. The Gun Sniper's armor caved under the assault. The twisted remains of its chest plate shot into the air, fell to the ground. The zoid fell, pivoting on one still anchored leg, and crumpling down on top of it.

The screen went solid red.

[Gun Sniper - Disabled]

Leena screamed and cursed. The sounds of her fists slamming down on the consoles carried clearly through the com.

Doctor Toros held his Storm Sworder aloft. He sighed. "Least she could have done was shoot Leena before we spent all that ordinance."

Leena continued to take out her frustration on her abused zoid.

Jamie crossed his arms over his chest and said nothing. There was no point. Two battles with her new Gun Sniper and she'd only managed to take out a teammate. Leena wasn't going to change, wasn't going to listen, and her father was barely any better.

* * *

Rotheran's local Zoid office appeared on the horizon. Naomi eased the throttle of her Gustav. With dirt roads and a barren stretch of ground for a parking lot, it looked more like an outpost than an office. She brought the Gustav around, lined up for an easy exit, and shut the engines down. Naomi stood from the navigator's seat, stretching her arms overhead. She groaned softly. Three hours to get here, three hours to get back to Romio City. She'd pick up a room locally, head back tomorrow. For a lack of pockets, she slung a purse over her shoulder and slipped her Zoid Gear inside.

A bored clerk jumped to attention as the sensor chimed. "Reporting for a battle?"

She walked up to the only counter in the small office. "That's right. Naomi Fluegel, team Fluegel." It never got less awkward to say.

The clerk tapped a few keys on their terminal. "Got it. Congratulations warrior. Zoid Gear?"

Naomi fished the device out of her bag. "Here you are."

The clerk connected it to their terminal. Her Zoid Gear's screen flashed. "Deposit complete." Duels didn't draw in the viewers, didn't pay nearly as much as team battles. Still, she'd have put Leena Toros in her place for free. Her lips quirked upward. As much as she prided herself on only using one shot per kill, she'd enjoyed putting that second bullet into the falling Gun Sniper. The clerk handed it back to her then spread three forms on the desk. "Please fill these out."

Naomi inwardly sighed. No one ever said they got into zoid battles for the paperwork. She found a pen in her purse and muddled her way through it. She was wrapping up the third page when the door sensor chimed.

"Hello, I'm here to turn in the paperwork for my team." Jamie, Bit's teammate, had a sheaf of papers in his hands. He walked up to the counter. It figured, Toros wouldn't show, not after a loss like that.

"Which battle?"

"Blitz Team, Leena Toros." He handed over the paperwork then turned to her. "Hi Naomi."

"Hi Jamie." She dotted the last I. "How's Bit?"

Jamie shuffled awkwardly.

Naomi shook out her writing hand. "I'm not up to anything. I promise." Jamie was too high strung for a kid his age. To be fair, with prize money on the line, every zoid warrior wanted an edge.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Bit's gone." Her eyes widened. Her mouth fell open. Jamie took one look at her, and quickly raised both hands. "No! I mean. After the hospital…" The boy trailed off.

"Kid, you don't say hospital and gone and then stop." Naomi crossed her arms. "Spit it out."

His cheeks reddened. Jamie gestured to his chest, his ribcage. "Bruised ribs. Contusions. Minor whiplash. Concussion. The doctor said he had no right to be that lucky. He should be fine in a few weeks, if he rests."

"Which he isn't doing?" Some men were like that and the blond seemed like the type.

"I can't say. He disappeared."

"What?" She asked before she could stop herself. That bad? "Bit left?"

Another sigh. He began slowly. "Leena's well… you've met her."

"She's a hothead." Entitled bitch also came to mind.

Jamie gave her a blank look. "Yeah...hotheaded. But she's the owner's daughter." Ah, bad as she was, princess got away with it. He studied the patterns in the wood floor. "Things got really tense." He shook his head. "They'll cool off eventually. I bet he's hanging around Rockwell's Garage, till the Liger's ready."

Naomi pretended to adjust the strap of her purse. "Back in Romio city?" Jamie gave an unsuspecting nod. She flashed an innocuous smile, what she hoped was innocuous. "I'm sure you're right. He just needs some time." Time. It all came down to time. "Anyway, good luck in Class A."

"Thanks." He gave a sigh. "We'll need it. The Liger should be ready soon but we won't have Bit for at least a couple weeks."

Or ever again.

She didn't have the heart to say anything else, didn't like breaking her promises. Naomi turned on her heel. The door slide open with a hiss and another chime from the sensor. The sun was low on the horizon and it was a long drive back to Romio City. Rockwell's Garage didn't ring any bells. Couldn't be too hard find. Bad for business.

* * *

A/N: ...and the story starts to diverge from anime.


	5. The Path Not Taken

Title: The One That Got Away

Episode 5:...

A/N:...

* * *

Rockwell's was a fair sized garage, not the mammoth shop/factory the Leading Edge was. According to their rep they handled most repair and modifications. They didn't build or customize weapons. Only the biggest and most specialized shops did. Still, if word of mouth could be trusted, they were a reputable garage. Best of all, they didn't ask questions when Dr. Toros' "assistant" called in for an update on the Liger Zero yesterday.

 _"_ _I'm not up to anything. I promise."_

Jamie seemed like a decent sort. Enough. She'd come this far. The Liger Zero was due to be ready this afternoon. Smart money said Bit would be early.

 _"_ _Do you know what over specialized means? It bit you in the ass last time."_

As much as it rankled her, to hear it from the little princess, it was true. Naomi was methodical, almost surgical with her long range rifle. Her Gun Sniper was lethal up to 3 kilometers. Unfortunately, she was just one warrior, betting everything on her own skills. She was too vulnerable against a well-coordinated strategy, all but doomed if flanked. Her teammates might have helped, if she'd been smart about it. Instead, she'd used rookies like fodder, a strategy that worked right up until it fell apart.

Jack Cisco, for all his considerable skill, had learned that same lesson the hard way. She'd have approached Cisco, if he wasn't famous for being a loner. No, Cisco was too prickly, too set in his ways. Jack Cisco didn't play well with others.

Bit Cloud was a damn good warrior, clever enough to outmaneuver her, talented enough to hold his own against Cisco, and if Jamie could be trusted, quite unhappy with his current team.

The glass doors slide open and she stepped into a small lobby. A check-in counter with two terminals faced the door, dominating the space. Naomi approached the counter, where an older woman sat in front of a monitor. A similarly aged man stood beside her, leaning over a ledger.

The older woman looked up from her terminal, smiling gently. "Good morning. Can we help you?"

"Good morning." Naomi greeted. Good start. How to word the question, without sounding like she was spying on the competition? "I'm looking for a guy. Blond hair, green eyes, young."

The man never raised his eyes from his ledger. "Just what you see on the shelves, Miss."

Warmth crept up Naomi's cheeks. She'd walked into that one. "It's not-"

"Jakob." The older woman jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. "She's talking about the young man with the Liger."

Jakob made a show of rubbing his injured side. "You mean Bit."

So much for not asking for him by name. Naomi cleared her throat politely. "Yes, Bit. Is he here?"

"He's in the waiting room." She glanced at Jakob and frowned. "After someone almost bit his head off."

"He can't be on the shop floor. Liabilities." He groused.

The woman rolled her eyes before giving Naomi a warm smile. "Your fella's through there." She gestured down the hallway. "First door on the left."

Better to leave them with the wrong impression. "Um…Thank you." Naomi smiled in return.

Like the shop's entrance, the door to the waiting room was a clear pane of glass. A pair of armchairs and two mismatched sofas surrounded a rectangular wooden coffee table. Two screens were mounted to the walls, both turned to the Zoids Battle Network.

Bit's back was to her as he thumbed through a magazine rack, filled with copies of Champ Industries. After a minute of searching he turned to the nearest sofa, empty handed. Stiches ran along the right side of his face. He planted one hand on the armrest and carefully lowered himself onto the seat. He leaned back into the sofa, closing his eyes.

The door slide open with a soft hiss. Naomi stepped into the room. Her heels clicking off the tile floors. She stopped an arm's length away from where he sat. "Hi Bit."

His eyes snapped open. "Naomi?" The same messy blond hair, sea green eyes... If his voice was rough, she could almost pretend he wasn't recovering.

"What am I doing in a mom and pop shop?" She offered.

His lips quirked into a smile that if tense, wasn't forced. "Yeah."

She craned her neck, peering at his right side. Bit sighed. Before she could apologize he turned his head toward her, submitting to her inspection. The stitches started high on his cheek bone, following a sharp jagged line that curved toward his bottom lip. A second, smaller, line split off, branching back toward his earlobe.

"How are you feeling?" She gathered her skirt and sat next to him on the sofa. The vinyl squeaked underneath her. Naomi crossed her legs toward him.

"I'm fine." Some would have written him off as tired. Had she not been armed with the inside scoop from Jaime, she might have noticed anyway. Bit Cloud was many things, but subdued was not one of them.

 _"_ _Liger, together we're invincible!"_

Naomi was only a few years older, but she'd lost the almost childlike excitement that defined him. Maybe she never really had it, the eagerness that fueled Bit's every step. Seeing him, worn and tired, hurting in mind and body… Naomi raised her hand toward Bit's face, caught herself, and folded her hands in her lap. "I ran into Jamie yesterday."

"Oh." Bit rubbed a hand over his eyes. He muttered Jamie's name and something else under his breath. He cleared his throat. "I'm getting there."

"Glad to hear that." What else would he say? She studied her hands in her lap. "As for why I'm here." Moment of truth. She held his gaze. "Bit, I'm in the market for a new partner." His dark green eyes widened. She barreled forward. "I can't make a great sales pitch. I operate out of a Gustav when I'm not renting a room." God. It sounded awful out loud. "At the moment, my record's 2-1 in team battles." Which put her solidly in the cellar of Class C. She wanted to laugh, at herself. She'd come this far. "But you'd be an equal partner."

"It sounds perfect." Bit answered softly. A grin spread across his face. "I can say I was there at the beginning."

Really? "Rea- That's great." A warmth spread through her chest. "I'm glad to hear that."

Bit grinned wider. "Good timing too. I just have a quick stop to make, bring the Liger in for some scans. Then I'll notify the ZBC." She tilted her head towards him curiously. Was Rockwell's not up to the task? "I ran into someone that knows a lot about zoid design. We talked about weapon systems. He said I should stop by. His Whale King is an hour outside of town."

"I can bring my Gustav over, more comfortable ride." Her eyes strayed to Bit's chest, where his bandaged ribs were hidden underneath his shirt.

He followed her gaze. "I'll be okay." He assured her. About the ride or his injuries? "Don't want to be a bother."

"I don't mind." She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and flashed him a smile. "We can talk about a new name."

* * *

Naomi brought the Gustav to a stop and leaned back in her seat. She wasn't waiting five minutes before the Liger appeared on the edge of Romio City. It ambled along at a slow and steady pace, more likely for Bit's comfort than for city ordinances.

Her monitor flashed. Bit's face appeared in front of her, a genuine smile on his face. "Close range micro missiles built right into the chassis." He gave a long whistle. "New?"

"Yeah…" She checked her sensors. The Liger was almost a kilometer away. Her Gun Sniper had to be partially hidden behind the Gustav. "Good eye." Very good eye. The Leading Edge had put in a lot of work (and charged an awful lot of money) to install each miniature warhead and mold the armor around them.

"Hell of a surprise for some unlucky guy."

She smiled softly at him, the only person to ever dodge her bullet. "That was the plan." Plans changed. That rematch would have to wait.

Once the Liger was secured, she opened the Gustav's main hatch. Bit slipped inside. He stood taller, his movements more relaxed as he settled into the chair next to her.

"Someone's feeling better."

He smiled brightly, even his eyes seemed brighter. "Can't explain it."

* * *

Laon tossed a copy of Champ Industries into the waste bin. Filler from cover to cover. No wonder they gave em away for free.

A proximity alert popped up on his terminal.

That would be his guest. Laon smirked. The kid was delivering himself right into the Liger's den. If he went that route. A sympathizer within the Blitz team had its advantages. A Gustav appeared on the main screen. It plodded steadily down the road, a white Liger on a towing platform behind it.

Right behind a red Gun Sniper.

The smirk fell of his face. A Gun Sniper that close, could be a problem.

The Gustav was well over a kilometer away when Bit's voice carried over the com. "Dr. Laon, you there?"

"Bit." He forced some, but not too much, warmth into his voice. "Right on time."

The transport stopped just before the Whale King's loading ramp. A side panel of the Gustav opened and a familiar blond head poked out. A minute later Bit piloted the Liger up the ramp and into the belly of the Whale King.

Laon gestured to the center of the docking bay. "Right there."

Once in position, the top section of the zoid's head shifted forward and opened. Bit stood up from the cockpit, glancing wearily at the long drop to the floor. Without a word, or any apparent prompting, the Liger Zero crouched, lowering its head. Bit hopped down, grunting as he landed. He stared up at the zoid. "Thanks, partner." He started toward Laon, a bounce in his step.

Laon tapped a key and two scanning bots descended, hovering on opposite sides of the Liger. They moved in tandem, scanning the zoid from nose to tail gun. A 3D model of the Liger Zero appeared in the center of the screen, rotating slowly. Measurements, dimensions, and other standard data, scrolled past.

It was his first true look at a Liger. As expected, it was an impressive platform. Wider stance than a Saix, not quite as fast but more maneuverable, and not nearly as fragile. Laon raised an eyebrow. He double checked the scanners and their measurements. A wider stance than a Blade Liger too…

He brought up a basic model of a Blade Liger and frowned. He'd assumed the Zero was a recovered or incomplete Blade Liger. If not- He snapped his fingers, smiling to himself. Blade Ligers were derived from Shield Ligers, made to be bigger, heavier. He brought up a Shield Liger model. The dimensions were closer, some more than others, but the shape… the proportions were all wrong.

Dr. Laon liked mysterious.

He enlarged the models of all three zoids, stripped them down to their wire frames. He overlaid the Liger Zero over the Shield Liger. Height, length, weight, all the differences together made a longer, leaner, more sinuous body type.

Something in between then? A protoform of the Blade Liger?

He brought up another model of the Liger Zero, overlaid it onto the Blade Liger. The two zoids were even less alike. The Zero stood shorter than the Blade Liger, with a wider stance… a lower center of gravity, for more maneuverability. Laon tapped another key and his mouth fell open. And the Zero was light. With its standard armament it weighed 30% less than a Blade Liger! He glanced over his shoulder then turned around completely, staring up at the Liger Zero.

Lighter and faster and more agile. It wasn't a precursor or even an offshoot...

"Where did you come from?" Laon wondered aloud. He needed to strip its armor but he didn't have the equipment for it. Damn it. It'd take hours by hand, if Bit let him. Laon reactivated the scanning bots, dialing up the sensitivity to penetrate the armor and frame as best they could.

"Hmm? I was just at Rockwell's garage." Bit called out, from in front of the white zoid. "Feeling better, aren't you partner?" The blond called up to the zoid.

The Liger Zero rumbled softly then again, louder.

Bit grinned. "Me too."

Outside, the Gustav executed a tight three point turn, facing away from his Whale King. And, unintentionally, hopefully unintentionally, pointing the Gun Sniper directly toward it. The side panel opened and a shapely female figure emerged. A young woman with long red hair made her way up the ramp.

Bit joined him at the terminal, turning to smile at the approaching woman. The redhead stopped at Bit's shoulder. "Dr. Laon." Bit gestured to the beautiful woman. "This is Naomi Fluegel. My new partner." She smiled in greeting.

"What?" Laon cleared his throat. "You're leaving the Blitz team?" Hmm. Hourglass figure. Eyes like amethysts. He didn't need to be a genius inventor to read between the lines. "Where are my manners? Nice to meet you Ms. Fluegel. Please call me Laon, everyone else does."

She placed her dainty hand in his and gave him a surprisingly firm handshake. "Please, just Naomi."

Laon fixed a smile on his face. There went the kid's value as a hostage. Bit wouldn't be much of an informant, not when he was on another team. Oh well, he kind of liked the kid. If nothing else, Toros was losing a pilot. And one mysterious zoid… "What are you going to do when you face your old team?"

"Make them regret ever treating me like dirt." Bit glanced back at the Liger Zero. "For calling you useless." The zoid growled and the blond smiled.

He was really starting to like the kid.

"I can't wait to see it." Laon smirked. If that day came, he'd have a front row seat. "What's next for the new… what is the new team?"

"Leaning toward the Stars Team." Bit walked back to the Liger and grinned up at his zoid. "What do you think, Liger?" The beast gave a low rumble. The Liger was the most animated zoid he'd ever seen. The blond turned back to him. "Once we're done here, I'm off to the nearest commission office. There's a tournament in Temp Town coming up. Want to change my registration as fast as possible."

"Today must be your lucky day." Leon placed a hand on the young man's shoulder, turning him toward one of the terminals. "Besides the state of the art home theatre system, my Great Whale King is equipped with a Class 1 communication array. I can tap into any satellite in high orbit. You can do it from here."

"You don't mind?"

"I insist."

Suck it Toros.

* * *

Leena grit her teeth, seated at the Hover Cargo's support terminal. Jamie said nothing, his eyes on the road. Her father was preoccupied with his models. The Hover Cargo trudged steadily toward home, silent except for the muted rumbling of the engines.

That was fine by Leena.

Battered and broken, with one leg almost useless, they couldn't even load her Gun Sniper back onto the Hover Cargo themselves. Half a day, to get someone out there and haul it to only decent garage in town.

At least the gaped tooth yokels got the leg back on right, after they finished gawking at it. The Gun Sniper was secured in the launch bay, broken but whole. Now they just had to replace the trashed stabilizers, rework the armor, and remount the missile pods. She wanted to scream, about Naomi, the stuck up bitch, about the damage, and the two weeks it would take to repair it. Two weeks, if they had all hands on deck, back at the hanger. But if she screamed, Jamie would remind her it was all they could afford, and then she'd have to strangle him.

As far as her teammates went, Jamie was the least annoying. As good as it would feel to kill him, at least in the short term, her father would disapprove.

An alert flashed across the main screen. The landscape in the lower left corner was replaced by a close up of Brad's face. "Doc, message for you, from the Zoid Battle Commission."

"Don't tell me they've setup our first battle." Jamie's eyes darted to her father then back to the screen.

Her father paused, his Storm Sworder in the middle of an attack run. "Brad, put it through."

Brad nodded. His image disappeared. The ZBC logo took its place, a white crest against a blue background. The logo vanished. The blue remained. Lines of white text scrolled across the screen. The robotic voice of a Judge read through the message.

Attention: [Blitz Team] – Owner [Steven Toros]

Zoid Warrior – [Bit Cloud] Registration Number [777A09]

Zoid – [Liger Zero]

"Warrior has withdrawn from their current sponsor [Blitz Team]. The [Blitz Team] has one week to contest this action and file a grievance with the Zoid Battle Commission."

Leena shot to her feet. "He's running off?" She snarled. After everything they'd done for him? The goddamn coward. "He couldn't even face us?"

Her father sighed, holding his Storm Sworder in one hand, a wing in the other. "Brad, send back the approval. We forfeit our right to Bit's contract and the Liger Zero."

"Got it." Brad was as unfeeling as any Judge.

"Got it!? That's all you have to say?" Leena turned on her father. "Challenge the request. Bit can't leave!"

"He bought the Liger outright, Leena." Her father stared forlornly at his damaged model. "Keeping him here against his will isn't going to help."

"Jamie, would you talk some sense into them?!"

Jamie just stared sullenly at his terminal.

Her father stood up. "Brad, see if you can get in touch with Leon." He crossed his arms over his chest and started pacing. "We'll keep this quiet, no one will know until Bit shows up on another team."

"If he shows up on another team." Leena muttered. "Who'd take that idiot in?"

* * *

A/N:...


	6. New Teams, Old Teams

Title: The One That Got Away

Episode 6:

A/N: Okay, so the team name isn't popular. Well, it serves a purpose for now and won't be permanent. I do pay attention to the comments and other suggestions. I try to respond when I can, through messages. Even if I can't work suggestions into the story the feedback is valuable. Still no beta.

* * *

Brad Hunter exhaled slowly. The Command Wolf's radar was clear, except for one contact, the Hover Cargo at his back. No matter which way he turned, empty desert filled the zoid's monitors.

"Got a hit. Wait-" Leon's voice carried clearly through the com. "Never mind. Judge pod, incoming."

His radar pinged. A single object, moving fast, slammed into ground several kilometers ahead. It kicked up a wave of sand. The shockwave rolled through the sand beneath his zoid.

"Jamie, get out here!" He snapped into the com. Or he'd be fighting solo.

"Pteras," Jamie's voice cracked, "mobilizing Pteras." The aerial zoid floated passed him. A 100 meters out it doubled back, turned a lazy circle overhead.

"Area scanned. Battlefield setup." The Judge began its routine. So far so good, they got two zoids on the field. "Battle Mode 0990. The Quake Team vs the Blitz Team. Fight!"

"Jamie see what you can scout." Leon advised… from the Hover Cargo. Why he wasn't in the Pteras himself... Sometimes Leon was too nice for his own good.

"On it." Jamie chirped and pointed the Pteras down field.

Brad set the Command Wolf to a trot and followed well behind. Nothing on radar or as far as the eye could see. With the air support he wouldn't get ambushed but it was hard to put too much faith in Jamie's untested abilities.

"There's a Command Wolf, desert type, five kilometers out. But… it's not moving. Holding position." Jamie reported. "Ah… behind it, two kilometers back. A Heldigunner. Modified-" Six missiles, maybe eight, soared through the air. The Pteras banked sharply. The missiles followed, turning in a wider, slower, arc. "CP-15 Assault Unit!" Jamie put the nose up and began to climb.

A storm of Gatling fire filled the sky.

Brad pushed on the throttle, bringing his Wolf to a loping gait. Two on two was a minor miracle. Or a trap. Either way, he needed to act before Jamie got knocked out and they bore down on him. Three kilometers to go, two, and his radar flashed. A hit, at the edge of his range-

Downfield, a flash of yellow on yellow. The shot sailed wide, a meter to his left. Brad smirked. "Too soon." He kicked his Command Wolf into a full run. The gold armor blended the familiar silhouette into the horizon but any warrior worth his salt could spot a Command Wolf within a kilometer.

The golden Wolf shot forward but instead of meeting him head on it angled away, veering to his left.

He turned to follow, fired, and missed just behind his target. The enemy zoid went all out trying to open up the distance between them. He raised the Wolf's cannon and backed off the throttle, letting the enemy get-

The golden Wolf pivoted suddenly, swung around, and fired.

A wild shot and a lucky shot, caught his zoid across the lead shoulder. Brad yanked on the controls, steadying the Command Wolf, and bounded away, before his opponent could follow up with another.

His opponent turned and charged deeper into the desert, not slowing in the least, not even to try and finish him off. Talk about playing it safe. Probably waiting for his friend in the gunner to take Jamie out.

"What are you doing Jamie?" Leena groused over the com. The Pteras abandoned a strafing run in the face of the Heldigunner's firepower.

Brad chased after his prey. As long as he got the Wolf before Jamie ate it, he could flank the Heldigunner. Best case, the enemy used up all their missiles on the Pteras.

His opponent broke to the left again. Brad swung out to the right. Wouldn't fool him with the same trick twice. He pivoted toward the enemy zoid and fired. The shot landed dead center. The golden Wolf stumbled, recovered, and kept moving, circling to his left. He turned with the enemy zoid and pulled the-

Something slammed into the back of his Command Wolf, throwing him forward into the safety harness, and driving the air from his lungs. A monitor flashed red. Damage to the- No shit. His radar pinged. Someone was shouting over the com. A Warshark, barely surfaced, directly behind him, Beam Cannons hot. He threw the controls forward, to leap away but another volley caught him squarely in the flank. His Wolf crashed onto its side.

Then the golden Wolf was on him.

[Command Wolf – System Freeze]

"Jamie," the Doc's sigh was clear, even over the team com. "Fall back. No point damaging all our zoids."

"Surrender of Blitz Team. Pteras. Processing request." The Judge broadcast over the public channel. "Surrender accepted. Battle over. Winner, the Quake Team."

All he could do was wait for the Hover Cargo to reach him, to load his damaged zoid into the lower bay. He didn't look at the Command Wolf as he climbed out of the cockpit. The damage would be there tomorrow, or that night. Doc wanted all hands on deck for repairs.

Leon was waiting for him in the break room, pot of coffee in hand. Brad found a mug and held it out to him.

"Sorry about that." Leon filled the cup for him. "Didn't see the Warshark coming."

"That makes two of us." At least the coffee was free. Win streaks didn't last forever. But no victory, meant no prize money, just the basic stipend from his contract, his Class B contract. Doc better believe they'd be renegotiating that next season. Assuming they didn't drop back down...

Leon's eyes darted to the door. He smiled. "Hiding out?"

Jamie raised a hand to the back of his head. "Sorta. Leena won't let up."

"Pestering dad about taking the GS in for repairs?" Leon poured himself a cup.

"Yeah." Jamie shuffled past and dug a bottle of liquid sugar out of the fridge.

Leon busied himself with the cream and sugar. "How'd that happen? She won't tell me about it." He was one to talk. The Shield Liger had made it home under its own power but that was where the good news ended. With one missile pod scrapped and the armor beat to shit, Leena's zoid had some company back at the hanger.

"Two shots from Naomi Fluegel's Gun Sniper."

What was she up to? She'd given him a look last match, liked what she saw. He could have said something to her, if he hadn't been so frustrated with getting hit and Bit's antics.

"Suppose it's something," Leon gave a halfhearted chuckle, "that the first bullet didn't put her away."

"Yeah, it did." Jamie remarked. "It was personal." He opened one of the lower cabinets and wedged his arm inside. "You should have seen them at the shop. I thought they'd handle it right- Aha!" He emerged with a bag of jelly beans and held his prize aloft.

"Too bad you couldn't talk Leena out of it." Brad muttered. The zoid wasn't two weeks old. Three days of nonstop work and it didn't look any better.

Jamie tore into the wrapper. "Bit told me to stay out…" He stared down at his snack.

Leon did likewise, staring into his coffee mug.

Brad slipped out the door and into the hallway. Back in the lower bay, the Command Wolf was right where he'd left it. The rear and side plates were warped where the Warshark had tagged him, dented where the golden Wolf had joined in. Something, a stabilizer, a booster, an actuator, would be damaged, and likely beyond repair. He'd have to go over the frame but there was half a chance it was intact.

It wasn't the statement he wanted to make in Class A. No money and no individual points. He took long sip from his mug. The next match would be better. Leena would talk her dad into having the Gun Sniper refit at a shop. More than likely, Doc would send the Shield Liger in too. Must be nice, being the boss' kids. Leena... couldn't be any worse in a Gun Sniper than a Dibison and trading an unarmed Liger Zero for a fully functional Shield Liger was a no-brainer, not to mention the pilots.

* * *

Bit sat at the Gustav's support station. Sand dunes gave way to dark packed dirt and sparse trees. Behind him, Naomi sat in the pilot's chair. He'd offered to drive, to take shifts, but the sniper insisted she was fine. He cleared his throat and glanced back at the redhead. "What's a Mixed Tournament? I thought this was a Battle Royale."

"Last day is the free-for-all. First, they have to thin the field." Naomi answered in her normal cool tones, never taking her eyes off the road. "More teams, more matches we have to get through."

Oh. It made sense.

He brought up the rear camera. Behind the Gustav, Liger sat on a towing trailer, so still it could have been a statue.

Bit shifted in his seat. Two hours on the road and the white zoid wanted to run. Odd, Liger hadn't minded even the longest trips before. It must not have cared as much, sitting in the belly of the Hover Cargo, oblivious to the changing landscape. The trips had passed faster for him too, riding in the Hover Cargo. Between the break room, bathroom, and modification equipment, it was basically a mobile base and the Doc's pride and joy.

The Gustav wasn't bad, not at all. A smooth ride, even if it didn't get you there fast. The transport zoid was basically two sections, the cockpit and a very small living/storage area. Naomi had outfitted it with a small bed and a freezer. There wasn't much room left for storage. His camping gear, his tools, most of his worldly possessions, were stowed inside the Liger's towing trailer.

"Here we are." Naomi announced. The Gustav slowed from a limp to a crawl.

It wasn't a ZBC outpost but a huge open space, dominated by transport zoids. Gustavs and Whale Kings and the odd Hover Cargo. None of them sported the familiar blue and white paint scheme. Idiot. How could they? The tournament was restricted to Class B and Class C teams.

Two Godos… Godoses, Godosi. A Godos stood on each side of the road, flags secured to their arms. One stepped forward and raised its flags. It gestured to its left.

The ZBC logo flashed on the screen. "Welcome warriors! Please follow all traffic instructions." The artificial voice of a Judge filtered through. "Please check in at your respective counters for match data."

A bright yellow Whale King passed over head, low enough to cast its shadow over them. As it approached the second Godos raised its own flags. It gestured to its right. The massive zoid adjusted course, veering toward the other docked Whale Kings.

Their own path lead them past several other ground transports. Naomi expertly maneuvered the Gustav, trailers and all, into position.

He was out of his seat and in front of the hatch before the Gustav had fully stopped. "Lets-"

Naomi bent over her chair, reaching for something. Her boots ended at mid-thigh but her micro shorts could have passed as bikini bottoms. Such a far cry from woman who wore a full length dress while shopping for zoid parts.

"Hmm?" She straightened up, her purse over one shoulder.

Bit faced the door before she turned. He pulled on the release lever. "After you." She was his teammate now, so tried not to stare.

She passed him with a smile. Once in the sun she raised both arms over her head and stretched. Her crop top revealed the gentle swell of her hips, her slender stomach. The top of the blouse was the most conservative part of her outfit, hugging and covering her chest. And there was a lot to cover.

Sometimes he didn't try very hard.

He turned toward the Liger before he got caught. "Okay, partner. Keep an eye on it while we're gone." It rumbled in response. A warmth pulsed in the back of his mind.

An open field had been converted into a makeshift ZBC office. Banners flew over three check-in stations, organized alphabetically. Smaller stalls formed a rough perimeter, selling food and other supplies. Warriors milled about, buying supplies, grabbing a the last decent meal they'd get in days, and sizing up the competition. Naomi led the way through the crowd, drawing more than a few looks. The sniper had a fearsome reputation and a bangin body. She stopped in front of the first check-in station, A-F.

One. Two. Three. He cleared his throat. "Stars, remember?"

Naomi pursed her lips. "Old habits." She glanced at- "Friends of yours?"

Three men, in similar jackets, stood in front of the O thru Z counter. They stared at him and not the hot redhead at his side. A ZBC clerk handed one of them, the shortest of the three, a sheaf of papers. The short one stuffed them into his jacket. The trio stalked across the field, cutting a path directly toward them.

"Must be our lucky day." The "leader" sneered. Slightly shorter than average, his two teammates towered over him.

"Ready for some payback?" Crony Number One, the tallest of the three, added.

Bit glanced between the three warriors. "Um, have we met?"

"What?!" Crony Number One raised a fist.

Crony Number Two took a step forward. "Don't mock us!"

"Easy boys." The leader raised his arms, blocked them from advancing. "Save it for the tournament. We're gonna make a statement and live up to our name!"

"The mighty Tigers!" All three roared.

"Oh, right!" The guys with the yellow Tigers, from way back. "Good luck with that. Or you could rename yourselves. The yellow- Wait no, that sounds like you're cowards. How-"

"You punk!" Short-stack shouted, reaching for Bit's jacket.

"Excuse me." A ZBC clerk in the standard white uniform stood up from behind their counter. He gave them all a stern glare. "Violence will not be tolerated here."

The Tigers' leader released his jacket. "We'll settle this in a zoid battle. Let's go!" He started off but turned back to shout. "See you there!"

"Nice job getting em riled." Naomi crossed her arms under her breasts. She smirked. "The clueless act was great."

He tilted his head and blinked. "Yeah." He cleared his throat, gestured toward the other counter. "Gets them every time."

They stood in their correct line, received their battle assignments, and a copy of Champ Industries. The month's issue sported a bright orange Whale King on the cover, with Mt. Olympus in the background, and featured the Champ family's sightseeing tour through Europa.

They'd drawn the Diablo Team. A team he didn't know, that Naomi had barely heard of. They walked back to the Gustav. Command Wolves, Sabres, and Gun Snipers, were out in the open, loaded onto towing trailers. There was the odd Saix and a Shield Liger. Then there were the larger transports, with their zoids hidden inside.

With a name like Diablo, what would they use?

"Good showing. We should expect at least two matches." She settled into the pilot's seat, again. "We should play it safe when we can." If they could… "No heading back to town for repairs till it's over."

"Right." He wasn't one for playing it safe but it was a fair point. Repairs would be tough in the field, even if they had the time. The best they could manage would be minor. Fortunately, the Liger's plasma cannon and beam gun didn't need hard ammunition, which left plenty of room in the towing trailer for his tools. Besides, with so many teams and so many zoids, who knew what he'd walk away with?

* * *

Bit hopped into the Liger's cockpit. His skin tingled. The screens flared to life. The safety harness settled firmly against his chest, noticeably stiffer than ever before.

A white Judge rotated in its open pod, scanning the battle scarred ground. Aside from a modest slope to the west, the field was level where it wasn't cratered. A few pockets of trees remained, though most were burnt or broken. If the scorched earth and spent casings were any sign, the damage was recent.

The Judge froze in its pod the second he loaded his zoid gear. Its white face appeared on the Liger's center display. "Tournament conditions limit this battlefield to the surrounding one kilometer radius. Battle will not proceed until all warriors are within my jurisdiction."

Kind of a tight fit. He and Liger would manage but with the enemy starting so close, the Gun Sniper's range advantage wouldn't count for much. He closed the public com and activated a private one. Naomi's pretty face replaced the Judge's black visor. "You catch that?"

She gave a nod. "You want to head in first? I'll hang back."

"Right." He closed the channel. "C'mon Liger, see if they take the bait."

Three zoids, in a loose triangle formation, appeared on the horizon. A Guysak was at the tip. The scorpion zoid's tail was raised, capped by a 30mm Beam Rifle. A set of machine guns were mounted at the base of its tail, one on each side. A black Command Wolf ambled along, a standard issue AZ cannon on its back. A dark green Rev Raptor brought up the rear, giving the Guysak a wide berth.

He stopped the Liger half a kilometer from the center of the field. Two kilometers back, Naomi crossed onto the battlefield.

The Judge raised both its arm. "Battle mode 9022. The Diablo Team vs The Stars. Fight!"

"Let's go!" The Liger charged forward.

They cut toward the Command Wolf, putting the taller zoid between them and the Guysak's firepower. The Wolf's cannon rotated after them. It managed one shot and missed wide before they got behind it and out of its field of fire. They ran for the far end of the field. Once the enemy followed, they'd stretch them out, into a line for Naomi.

The Command Wolf pivoted and gave chase.

Everyone else ignored them.

The Rev Raptor deployed its scythes and sped out of view. The Guysak's rotated back toward the Gun Sniper, spraying the area with machine gun fire. The beam rifle on its tail glowed red. The Red Comet was the priority, not some no name pilot in a white Liger. It stung a little, he'd never admit it but it stung. He was used to his teammates writing him but-

The Wolf charged. Its cannon lowered-

They pivoted hard and rushed to meet the advancing zoid. The Wolf's cannon fired. The Liger dove forward, chest scrapping along the dirt. The blast passed just over its shoulder. He threw on the boosters, rocketed toward the Command Wolf. The cannon fired again but they were too close, too low, for the back mounted gun to target.

The Liger's jaws opened. They caught the Wolf by the throat, bowled it over, and drove it onto its back. It rolled over its cannon, jerked, and went still. The Liger planted all four paws into its chest and pushed off. They raced down the battlefield.

Ahead of them, Naomi was in full retreat, the Raptor hot on her tail. The nimble zoid followed her erratic movements, matched her step for step. The Guysak was slower to follow but quick to turn and its tail was flexible. It fired its beam rifle, picking its shots, mindful of its teammate. She turned sharply. The Raptor overshot but the recovered quickly. She broke toward a sparse group of trees.

The Guysak's machine guns roared to life. It laid down a line of fire, ahead of her, cutting off her escape. She pivoted but the scorpion zoid turned toward her. Sparks flew off the Gun Sniper's flank. It stumbled, regained its footing, and cut back.

Directly toward the advancing Raptor.

Bit cut off the ion boosters and the Liger slowed.

Scythes deployed, the smaller Raptor zoid leapt.

They opened fire. Underpowered as it was, the plasma cannon was fast and at the slower gait they managed three shots per stride. He put nine plasma bolts down field before the Rev Raptor hit the ground. The nimble and lightly armored zoid landed in a broken heap.

The Guysak rotated toward him, its glowing laser claws raised. He put a steady stream of fire on the scorpion. Most missed high, sailed over the low profile zoid. A few bolts slammed into its legs, the base of its tail.

The beam rifle on the tail glowed red.

Bit pulled hard to the left, narrowly avoiding the blast. He brought the Liger back in line and fired another three plasma bolts. Two hit the charged laser claws, to no effect. "Neat trick." He muttered. Leaping was risky, opened them up to the charged blades. He circled left and the enemy turned with him.

Behind the Guysak, a red Gun Sniper leveled its Gatling Lasers on its open flank.

"Don't forget about me." Naomi showered the enemy zoid with laser fire. It shuddered under the assault. One of its machine guns blew out, its tail sagged to one side, and it crumpled down.

"Battle Over!" The Judge raised its blue paddle. "The winner is… the Stars!"

Bit pumped his fist. "Hope they're all that easy, partner!" The zoid threw its head back and roared.

The Gun Sniper turned and started back to the Gustav. The ruby red armor was marred by dark stripes. Beneath the scorch marks the plates were pitted, along the flank, across the hip.

They fell into step beside the Gun Sniper. "You okay?"

"Fine." She was as calm and collected as ever. "Armor took the worst of it."

Oh well. One down… more to go.

* * *

A/N: Reviews are always appreciated. Honestly, I was days away from abandoning the story after chapter 1 went almost two weeks without a single review. But the sheer amount of feedback convinced me to keep posting.


	7. All Bets Are Off

Title: The One That Got Away

A/N: I meant to split this into two chapters. But I was getting frustrated with some scenes and the way the story was going. So I cut some story elements and tried to wrap up the immediate threads. Thanks for all the feedback. I got all kinds, better than none at all.

* * *

Naomi surveyed the battlefield from the small ridge that was her perch. Sadly, it wasn't much, only slightly higher than the tips of the tallest trees. But it was the best vantage point available and she would use it to the fullest.

The Liger Zero stood in the center of the field, as still as any statue.

Four square kilometers were laid out before her, much of it cratered and scared. Only the farthest boundary had been spared the worst of it. There were gaps, mostly fallen trees or scorched earth, but large sections of the forest remained.

The Judge's pod, seated on the highest ridge in the area, opened. It rotated forward just as two shapes appeared on the horizon, one black, one white. Naomi's eyes fell on the black Shield Liger first. It stalked across the battlefield, stockier, blockier, than the Zero, and without the natural grace of its successor.

100 meters away, a Sabre Tiger mirrored its movements, off-white except for the eight point missile launcher was on its back. She glanced back at the Shield Liger. Standard armament, as far as she could tell, shock cannons mounted to its chest, missile pods folded into its flanks. The Tiger's missile launcher wasn't a match for her, not her range or velocity.

Whereas E-Shields… were an annoyance. Not invulnerable, not by a long shot, but they could take a hit or several. Pinpoint accuracy was the key to taking them out and that was a tall order, even for the best snipers. No, one shot and it wouldn't see it coming.

"Naomi." Bit's voice over the com. "There's a zoid moving inside the forest. The southern edge."

All she saw was a sea of green. She switched over to infrared and turned the filters way down. There, inside the forest, a little over 3 kilometers out. A wide blocky mass burned hotter than the ambient air. It was dug partially into the ground, equipped with a long barreled weapon. "Trying to hide in the weeds?" Nice try. Bit had damn good eyes. She re-zeroed her targeting system, for the distance, accounting for the elevation drop. Movements she'd done a thousand times before. The reticule was slow, sluggish. She backed out and refocused.

"The Domino team versus the Stars."

The shape shifted backward, likely altering its trajectory. She leveled her targeting reticule, one notch above its center. "No you don't."

The Judge raised both hands overhead. "Fight!"

She fired.

The bullet streaked across the battlefield, left a heat trail on her monitor. She pulled the trigger again, just to be safe. Her screen flashed. She switched back to normal resolution.

[Target – System Freeze]

Her radar flashed again. An explosive shell, 38mm or worse, was airborne and careening toward the center of the field. Hmm. He'd been quick on the trigger too. The three feline zoids scattered. 20 meters from the ground the shell exploded, showering the area in fire and shrapnel and kicking up a cloud of dirt.

The Shield Liger burst from the chaos. A cone of shimmering orange light surrounded its head, trailed along its flanks. She brought her sights down on the Shield Liger as it wheeled toward her position. The rear vertical servo jammed completely. Shit. Now of all times? She widened the Gun Sniper's stance to compensate, to bring her main gun down. The Shield Liger altered its course, zeroing in on the movement.

She fired. The bullet struck the center of the E-shield, in line with the zoid's mane. A ripple went through the orange energy barrier. The Shield Liger charged forward. She tried to track its movement, to stack one shot onto the other. The targeting reticule stuck then jerked down, past her target. The shot went low, in line with the zoid's legs. The energy field wavered but held. She bit back a curse. She'd never punch through like this.

The Shield Liger was 300 meters out and closing, quickly. Damn it. Eight seconds, eight seconds to switch- She slammed her fist on the release button and rolled onto her back. The padded bench hummed underneath her.

The enemy zoid stumbled, recovered, and turned sharply away from her. An errant plasma bolt splashed into the ground behind it.

Naomi let out a breath. The white Liger turned with its counterpart, firing as it closed in.

The Shield Liger returned fire from its tail gun. The shots missed just over the Zero's shoulder. Bit backed off and swept from one side of the enemy to the other, putting the odd plasma bolt on it with each pass. A panel on the Shield Liger's right flank shuddered. The compartment unfolded, revealing a missile pod perched on the end. Four missiles launched forward, arcing upward and back.

Guided missiles. Damn modification fanatics.

The Zero broke off its pursuit, activated its boosters, and ran for the center of the field. The missiles followed, gaining steadily, tracking the zoid's core emissions. The Zero turned, angling toward the downed Sabre Tiger. Just in front of the Sabre, the Zero pivoted hard and cut a sharp angle from the unmoving zoid. Fortunately, a disabled zoid had enough core activity to trip the guidance system. All four missiles slammed home, drawing an angry tirade over the open channel.

The Shield Liger came to a sudden stop, planted its feet, and fired its shock cannons. Three shots. Three misses. All behind the charging white zoid.

Bit cut a wide turn, back toward the Shield Liger. He managed two bolts on the stationary Liger before peeling off. The first bolt went wide but the second hit home, struck the enemy square in the chest.

The Sniper's bench formed into a pilot's seat. She thumbed a switch, broadcasting on a general channel. "Seems like a good time to surrender."

"I've faced worse," came the frustrated reply.

"Uh-huh." A second voice, this one frustrated and sarcastic. "Really kicking some ass there Sgt."

A string of expletives was the only answer. The orange E-Shield took shape and the Shield Liger rushed to meet the Zero.

The Zero turned to the oncoming zoid, held its ground, and fired a steady stream of superheated plasma. The bolts splashed against the E-Shield, rippling along the energy barrier like a blue fog but they did little else. The E-Shield held, barely wavering under the onslaught. "Yeah…" Bit muttered to himself.

She managed the uneven slope in her wounded Sniper. Some asshole wasn't going to spoil their tournament chances out of spite. She made it onto level ground, her finger tips brushing the firing controls.

The Zero leapt aside, narrowly avoid the charge. The Shield Liger shot past. Then the Zero was after it, at full speed, and closing on the black Liger. A panel, this time on the left flank of the Shield Liger, shuddered. The compartment split, unfolding from the main- The Zero was there. It drove its shoulder into the open panel, into the Shield Liger's flank. The compartment slammed shut. The Shield Liger recoiled from the impact.

The Shield Liger's flank erupted, ejecting the side panel with such force it bounced off the Zero's armor. Flames shot out the gaping hole in its flank, followed by thick black smoke. There was a scream over the open channel as it cartwheeled forward, first the front half, then the back.

The Zero threw its head back and roared.

"Battle Over!" The Judge raised its blue hand. "Winner, the Stars!"

Someone was cursing and retching over the open channel. At least they were alive. She terminated the channel, switching to the team com. The sun was low on the horizon and sinking fast. "Bit." She started. The Zero turned to face her. Its pilot said nothing. "I might need some help." Something was wrong with her Sniper and by the Eve, she needed it fixed. For all the days' excitement, it was the easy part.

* * *

Naomi sat in her cockpit, arms crossed, legs crossed, and face grim. She stared at their campsite, displayed on the Gun Sniper's screens. Opposite her own zoid, the Liger Zero, its armor dented and scratched, caught the light of the campfire. It looked ready, proud, despite the battle scars, hell, because of the battle scars.

"Try it now." Bit's voice crackled over the com.

She activated the sniping mode. The pilot's seat hummed. She leaned back as the seat reclined. Once she was lying flat she shifted onto her stomach. The flattened seat slide backward, into the sniping position. The targeting reticule flared to life as she grabbed the controls. She put the reticle on the Liger. The resistance was heavier than normal but nothing compared to before, when it felt like a Gustav was sitting on the end of the barrel. She targeted a broken tree in the distance and brought it back to the white zoid. The servos were slower than she liked but the movement was smooth, consistent. Good enough. She sighed in relief. "Much better. What was wrong?"

"Stabilizer was slipping out of its mount. Patched it and reseated it. It'll hold up, no matter what they throw at us tomorrow."

"That's all I need." She hit the switch and the flattened seat began to slide back into place. Once the pilot seat had reformed she opened the cockpit. Bit stood in front of the zoid, a spare rag in his hands. She grinned down at her new partner, her first real partner. "Where'd you learn to work on a Gun Sniper?"

"Being a junker helps." Bit smiled up at her. He was always smiling. He started toward their campfire. "Bet the coffee's ready."

Naomi climbed out of the cockpit and followed, pausing only to dig a blanket out of her pack. She wrapped it around herself, more to fend off the chill. Her clothing drew plenty of looks. She couldn't get caught on a skirt or jacket while piloting, specifically, switching between piloting and sniping modes. And she wasn't going to ruin a nicer outfit while camping out.

She took the offered coffee pot and filled her mug. The pleasant scent of a dark roast teased her. A smooth finish made her smile. "Not bad." Easily the best cup she'd ever had over a campfire.

He laughed. "Being a junker helps with that too." He dragged the back of his hand across his forehead, leaving a dark streak. Her lips quirked. He tilted his head. "What?"

"Nothing." She took another sip, smiling into her cup. "You're a handy guy to have around, Bit Cloud." A real partner, capable of watching her back. On and off the battlefield. Coffee in hand, she returned to her Gustav. She closed the main hatch behind her. With the hatch closed and the wind chill kept at bay, the cabin was almost comfortable. She sat on the single bed with a sigh, rolling her shoulders, stretching her neck.

Aside from her Gun Sniper's stabilizer, she and Bit had gotten out relatively unscathed, better than most. None of the finalists had officially withdrawn, yet. Assuming the worst, that meant six teams, battling it out in a melee. The Walker Team. The Buffalo Team. The Tigers Team. The Salamanders. The Red Fire Team. And them.

Five other teams, preparing and plotting around their own campfires, and none of them were pushovers. Even the one trick ponies, the Buffalo Team and the Red Fire Team, had plenty of firepower. The Salamanders were knocking on the door to Class A. Rumor was, one of their zoids was out of commission. That left a Stealth Viper and one heavily armed and armored Kong.

The support terminal in the cockpit flashed. She took a seat and tapped a key. Tomorrow's battlefield appeared on the main monitor. Roughly 10 kilometers long, 8 wide though it narrowed to half that at one end. Smaller than she'd expect, with so many teams involved. Dense forest covered a third of the ground, flanked by a series of ridges on the western and southern perimeters. More open space would have been better, for the Liger's maneuverability. A better vantage point would have been better for her rifle.

She put the map on a data pad and opened the main hatch. A rush of cold air cut through her. She tugged her blanket tighter around herself. Hopefully, he'd be warm enough. The Gustav was a tight fit for two but cramped or not, if it started raining she'd insist he setup his bedroll inside.

She found Bit arranging the poles of his tent. The Liger crouched next to him, like a cat resting on its stomach. "I've got the map for tomorrow."

"Any surprises?"

"Take a look." She stood shoulder to shoulder with Bit, holding the data pad between them. "Doesn't look great." She pointed to the ridge line on the west edge of the field. "I'll try to post up here."

He barely gave it a glance. "They'll expect that," he dumped his sleeping bag unceremoniously inside the frame, "expect you."

She frowned. "How do you figure?" Six teams were left, at least 15 warriors… Most people would be worried about the Kong and the team of Dibisons.

"Good warriors attract attention." He yawned. "So do beautiful women." Naomi opened her mouth, paused, and glanced away. He rubbed his eyes wearily. "Man, I'm beat." He threw the canvas cover over the tent frame and started tying it down.

"Bit." Her voice was tinny to her own ears. He glanced up at her questioningly, as if a six team free for all wasn't 12 hours away. "What's _your_ plan?"

He tilted his head, studying her with his dark green eyes, like it was the strangest question in the world, like she was crazy. One of them was crazy. "Wing it?" She gave him a dead stare. He stood, studied the map, and hummed to himself. "Don't get mad." He pointed to spot on the map.

* * *

 _A shaped charge detonated next to the Liger Zero, driving the superheated core into its right flank. The armored panels buckled. The connecting joints twisted inward and dug into its frame. It lurched to the left. Its pilot clutched the controls. He threw them to the right, trying to recover._

 _They were just too fast._

 _Its leg buckled. It pitched over. Its left shoulder dug in. They tumbled, onto its back, onto its other side. One of its back plates caved under its own weight. A shoulder plate was sheared off cleanly. Its partner jerked the controls back, drawing its legs to its body. On its back again, another roll, another tumble. The right side of the safety harness snapped. On its side, again, its pilot nearly slipped from the harness, his head caught the side of a console. Limp hands slipped from the controls. His thoughts retreated into darkness._

 _Its back caught the edge of something, a boulder, the edge of a crater. The impact threw its pilot forward, limbs flailing, head flailing. It cinched the damaged harness down across his chest, nearly crushing him in his seat as they skidded across the ruined battlefield._

 _All its strength, all its useless strength-_

Bit inhaled sharply, grit his teeth against the burning in his chest. His hands clawed at his chest, clutching the safety harness and wrenching it-

He was in his tent, lying on his bedroll, with his blankets thrown haphazardly at his feet.

He was fine. He was safe. His heart kept racing but the fire lancing through his ribs had faded, was never real. He blinked, taking short shallow breaths as the world came into focus. Dim but not dark, somewhere around sunrise. Bit drew a shallow breath and carefully rolled onto his side. A little sore but nothing compared to those first weeks. He exhaled slowly.

His breath turned to steam in the air.

He rubbed his hands over his face. His heartbeat wouldn't quite settle down. He clenched and unclenched his fists. With a groan he climbed to his feet and found his pants. He unzipped the front of the tent and stepped into the early morning air.

The sun was still on the horizon, casting everything in soft orange tones. Even the white zoid, standing vigil over his tent.

He laid his hand on the white metal armor, just above its claws. His fingers tingled, as if his hands were wrapped around the controls. He opened his mouth, paused, and closed it. He closed his eyes, rested his forehead against the warm metal. "I'll be fine, partner. Whatever happens, you and me, together." The Liger made no move, no sound, but the anxious energy that tingled along his skin eased. They stood in silence, letting the sunrise banish their nightmares and doubts.

"Didn't peg you for an early riser." Naomi called out. She stood in the hatch of her Gustav, a blanket wrapped tightly around her. She glanced at his bare chest. "How are you not cold?" Steam rose from her lips with every word.

Bit drew his hand back from the Liger's armor. "I ah," he blinked at her, shaking off the last vestiges of his nightmare. "Guess I didn't notice." The pants were a good call.

"Like a different species." She muttered. "I'll get on breakfast." She ducked back into the Gustav's cabin. "You mind making coffee?" Her voice echoed from inside.

* * *

Naomi released a frustrated breath, relaxing her grip on the Gun Sniper's controls. The worst part was the waiting, hiding in the forest. She glanced at her scanner as heat signatures moved in and out of her range. No one paid her any mind as they fought to survive, racing around the battlefield. Hell, the one's that stayed close didn't notice her either, too busy fighting with missile and bullet and tooth and laser claw. So she waited, holding position, giving the three Judge pods a run for their money. Technically, the Judges were doing their jobs.

Her screen flashed. Three heat signatures expanded on the opposite end of the battlefield. The Buffalo team continued their "Fire at Everything" strategy.

"Volley." Naomi warned. The three Dibisons each launched another 17 mortar barrage. At that range, they managed to hit everything and nothing. They'd lain waste to half of the battlefield, including a good chunk of the forest where she hid. Good thing she was so far in the back. Not that she enjoyed hiding, especially when to the west, barely over a kilometer away, the ridge was totally open.

Bit didn't respond. The Liger leapt aside. It pivoted, turning and firing a wide spray. Three shots missed, one caught the top of something. The air wavered. Two more bolts and the cloak failed completely. A Hellcat's rear legs pitched over and it hit the ground awkwardly. "Nice one, partner." Bit spoke… to his zoid. "Incoming." The Liger took off, racing for the edge of the blast zone. The Hellcat righted itself, turned, and bolted-

Directly into the path of the Iron Kong.

Three times the size of her Gun Sniper and strong enough to pick her up like a toy. A pair of Vulcan mini guns were mounted onto a single wrist. Two missile pods were built into its back. Then there was the rail launcher, eight meters long and mounted onto its right shoulder.

The Red Fire team, brave or foolhardy, had taken the fight to the Kong. The two Red Horns gave the Kong a wide berth, circling at distance, and peppering it with shots from their pulse cannons.

The Kong returned fire with the mini guns on its left arm. The Red Horns took more hits than they evaded but the armored zoids kept up their attack. While still firing its mini guns, the Kong leveled is launcher. The barrel of the launcher glowed blue. It raised both arms forward. A flash of white from the muzzle, the Kong's upper body swayed backward.

The blast punched through a Red Horn's armored flank, burst out the other side, and left a smoking heap in its wake.

The second Red Horn turned toward the Kong. It charged, firing its pulse cannons as it went. The Kong raised its left fist. The mini guns spun up, easily spitting out 50 rounds per second, leveling a constant stream of fire on the enemy. The hardened rounds pitted the zoid's armor, casting sparks off the Red Horn's reinforced crown. The Red Horn weathered the assaulted. 10 meters from the Kong it raised its head, lining up its Crusher Horn.

The Kong's right fist slammed into the zoid's head, lifting the Red Horn from the ground. The Red Horn crashed onto its side. Slow, heavy, and awkward, its legs flailed. The Kong loomed over it, giant fist raised. It crushed the pulse cannons in one blow. The beaten zoid went still.

"Dibisons." Naomi called out. "They're advancing." Taking their sweet time. Firing their shock cannons as they went. Ran out of mortars? Thank the Zoid Eve.

"Got it." Bit brought the Liger around in a wide turn, putting the Kong between himself and the Dibisons. "Thanks, Naomi. Hang tight."

Hang tight. Yeah, right. The ridge was just as open as the last time she checked, as it had been since the beginning of the battle.

A yellow Sabre Tiger with a high powered rifle charged across the battlefield, straight toward the ridge. Finally. Naomi hummed softly to herself, settling her reticule just in front of the mountain. The Sabre slowed at the base of the ridges, turning toward the gentlest slope.

A cloud of dirt and rocks shot up from the ground. The long, sinuous, shape of a Stealth Viper stretched into the sky. The dual laser machineguns below its head fired as it rose, catching the Sabre along its left flank. The Sabre veered away from the impacts, only to batter itself against the side of a ridge. The Viper rose fully and swung its tail around. A pair of 40mm heavy guns joined the onslaught. It hammered the other zoid relentlessly.

Which made it a very easy target.

Her bullet impacted just below the head of the Viper, destroying the upper guns, caving in the armor. It listed to one side, twisting in the air, and then fell as if its strings were cut. Naomi hit the conversion button, switching into piloting mode as it collapsed over the abused Sabre. Back in the cockpit, she grabbed the controls and raced toward the mountain. She burst out of the forest, used the downed zoids as cover, and scaled the nearest ridge.

The highest peak was a bad place for a sniper, too obvious. So she settled for one just below it, with a decent slope she could slip back down when she had to. She thumbed the switch and pilot's seat began to recline.

An explosion echoed through her com.

"Here kitty kitty." Someone taunted over the public frequency. Two more Sabre Tigers, sporting the same yellow paint job as the last one, bore down on Bit and the Liger Zero.

Her pilot seat flattened out. Naomi rolled onto her stomach before it was fully in position. She brought the targeting reticule up, wrapped her hands around the controls.

The Liger tore across the battlefield. The Sabres gave chase, spreading out to flank Bit. She sighted two notches ahead of nearest Sabre. "Firing, 3 o'clock." She pulled the trigger. The Sabre's backend pitched to the side. It crashed into the ground and slide, disappearing in a cloud of dirt and dust. Her screen flashed.

[Target – System Freeze]

"You're welcome." She said sweetly.

The Liger and the remaining Sabre ran side by side. The two zoids slammed into each other, shoulder to shoulder. They broke apart and slam- The Liger dug its claws into the ground and opened fire. The Sabre passed in front of the Liger, took two shots to its back end, and tumbled to the ground. The Liger closed in, claws glowing-

"Bit! Kong!" She put her reticule on the center of the advancing zoid.

"We see." Bit grunted. The Liger leapt over the fallen Sabre Tiger just as the mini guns spun up. The Kong put a hundred of rounds into the Sabre before it swung around, dropping a line of fire behind the fleeing Zero.

The Kong's chest cavity wasn't empty space. The armor could be half a meter deep at its chest, at its back, all reinforced high tensile steel. The head was a no-go. Even if she could hit it, with the massive launcher and missile pods in the way, targeting the cockpit was an automatic disqualification. She could try for the mini guns, hamper it. A difficult shot, with its arms moving about. Hit or miss and the Kong would zero in on her position. She could slide down the slope, take cover behind the downed Viper and Sabre.

The three Dibisons opened fire on the Kong's flank with their shock cannons. The Kong turned to face the attack. Its launcher glowed blue then white.

Bit came in fast on the Kong's right side. In the launcher's blind spot. The Zero closed in. Its mane expanded. Golden energy gathered along its claws. The Kong fired its launcher, raising its arms to counter the recoil. The particle beam streaked across the battlefield, lancing a Dibison through its shoulder. The Zero leapt, reaching out-

The Kong swung around, catching the Liger with the back of its fist. A two man crew, second man in the chest cavity, only way to keep on the Dibison and swing like that. The Liger crashed along the ground. Bit cursed into the com. The Liger rolled, scrambled to its feet, and narrowly avoided a barrage from the mini guns.

If the launcher was in her way, so be it.

Naomi adjusted her sights. One shot and the back end shattered. The Kong turned its soulless armored face toward her position. It wrapped one of its giant mitts around the barrel. Her fingers hovered over the conversion button. No more launcher and she was well out of range of the mini guns. It ripped the ruined weapon free from the shoulder mount and tossed it aside. Unless it rushed her position… Both missile pods opened. 24 incendiary warheads streaked into the air.

And arced toward one of the Dibisons.

Some of the missiles hit. The rest raised too much dust and dirt to see how it faired. The Kong didn't wait to find out. It charged the remaining Dibison, disturbingly fast for a zoid its size.

The Liger chased after it. Fast as the Kong was, it was a lumbering mess compared to the agile white zoid. Within seconds the Liger was on it, keeping pace just behind the massive zoid. Again, its mane expanded, its claws glowed. It shot forward, claws extended. It tore down the back of one leg, into the lightly armored joint. The Kong's heel caught the Liger in the side, a glancing blow… from a 200 ton zoid. The Zero slammed back into the ground, rolled along the dirt. The Kong's leg bent on the next stride, twisted one the second, and buckled on the third. It too crashed into the ground.

The lone remaining Dibison closed in, on the Kong, on Bit, maybe both. Naomi put her reticle on its chest and pulled the trigger. The telltale tremor went through the bulky zoid. It crumpled down.

[Target – System Freeze]

Bit was muttering softly over the team channel. The Zero shifted. The feline zoid climbed to its feet… doggedly. It stalked forward, body low, circling to the right of the Kong and away from its mini guns. "Anymore?" His voice was dark, heated. The white zoid opened its jaws and made a low growl.

The Kong planted both arms on the ground. Slowly, its chest rose. Stubborn. Could it really support its bulk on one leg? Swing around with its mini guns? The left wrist was out of her sightline. She put her reticle over its right should- It stopped moving, awkwardly propped up on three limbs.

"Forfeit of Iron Kong unit accepted. Battle Over!" The Judge declared. "Winner the Stars!"

* * *

The Lost Redler, the largest hotel in Temp Town was also the most upscale. Normally. Tonight the ZBC had rented out the hotel and the restaurant, gone so far as to provide rooms for all of the finalists. Almost all of the zoid warriors had taken advantage of the hospitality, turning the hotel bar into a warrior hangout.

There wasn't much ceremony involved with their win, or any really. Money was transferred to their accounts. Though they'd been shown to the best table in the hotel's restaurant. Naturally, the battle network was on every screen.

On one such screen, the Liger Zero was flanked by a Sabre Tiger on each side. Naomi smiled. She speared another cured olive from her plate. Any moment- Suddenly, a Sabre lurched violently as her bullet slammed into its side.

There was a hoot from the table behind them.

The olive practically melted in her mouth. "Think they'll repeat it tonight?" Tournaments, even those for the lower classes, usually garnered some airtime.

"Hope so, I could watch it all night." Bit was, well Bit, upbeat and all smiles. His food sat untouched. His beer, less so.

Naomi wasn't the type to judge, especially on her second glass of wine. She shifted in her chair, stretching her back with a sigh. "You're not tired at all?" The free-for-all had been harrowing and she wasn't in the thick of it the whole time.

He glanced back at her, grinning, green eyes bright. "I swear I could fight another tournament."

"Easy Tiger." She grinned back and drained the last of her wine. With no waitress in sight, she rose from her seat and made her way to the bar. She drew a few glances. She'd never let it bother her before and wouldn't tonight.

Not with all the money and glory they'd won.

Winning the tournament wouldn't boost their rank. The confirmed kills didn't count to their point totals for the season. But 26 teams had entered and it was winner take all. No team outside of Class A would make that much money in a season. Tonight's plan was simple: good food, good wine, and a feather bed.

Naomi set her empty glass before the bartender, an older woman with short black hair and a nametag that read Sherry. "Red. The Helic '64."

"Right away." She disappeared into the backroom.

Someone sidled up beside her. "That was a hell of a move, waiting for someone else to spring our trap." He was a few years older than herself, still early twenties. He extended a hand with a smile. "I'm Geetz. Salamanders." A red lizard was tattooed onto his forearm. Coiled into a tight circle, its jaws almost closed over its tail.

Yes, yes it was. "I try to let the enemy do the heavy lifting." She gave his hand a quick shake. "Naomi Fluegel."

"I know." He flashed a wide smile. "The Stars? That permanent?" So they knew her. Before or after they setup their ambush?

"I hope so."

Sherry returned and refilled her glass. "Congratulations Ms. Fluegel." She left the bottle on the counter.

Naomi smiled in thanks. She glanced back at Geetz. "That was you in the Viper?" Waiting for her.

"That was me." Geetz looked her over as she took a sip. He didn't have a drink, even an empty one.

She kept her tone neutral. "Better luck next time."

"Can't wait for next time." His smile didn't falter. "I'm sure we'll see each other again."

Enough being polite. She took her glass and her wine bottle-

"Your friends need to lighten up." Bit spoke from behind her, eyeing something on the opposite side of the room. Two young men, with similar jawlines and the same shade of light brown hair, were watching him. Glaring at him, to be more precise. One had his sleeves rolled up, revealing a black lizard tattooed on his forearm.

Naomi pursed her lips. She turned until she was facing Bit, putting her back to the Viper pilot. "Bruised a few egos?"

"Looks like." Bit set an empty glass down on the counter. He looked over her head, toward the Viper pilot, a predatory look in his eyes.

"We don't lose very often." Geetz's voice was even. "Figured we were unstoppable." They very nearly were, with all that firepower on such a massive zoid. Destined for Class A, the Salamanders had to be the heavy favorite.

The bartender returned, setting a fresh beer in front of Bit. She glanced between the two men, and left without a word.

"You guys should have a drink." Bit's lips quirked slightly. "Watch some TV."

Naomi clinked her glass against his. "I'll drink to that." She pointedly ignored the Viper pilot as he made his quiet exit.

* * *

Their hotel room door slammed shut behind them. Bit pressed her against the it, his hands working at her top. "Easy, Tiger." Naomi breathed, as his mouth scorched her neck. He paused, hands settling on her hips. She wasn't a flirt or a zoid groupie, wasn't ruled the moons or the tides. She stared up at him, her teammate, into his bright green eyes. She slipped his jacket off his shoulders. He released her to shrug out of it. She took a fistful of his shirt in each hand. It joined his jacket and she sealed her mouth against his.

* * *

A/N: This is it for the year. The holidays are going to get pretty crazy. When I pick this up again, the structure will be different. Fewer battles, less emphasis on technical details. I know some people really like the "technical details" and others hate them because they're incorrect. Full disclosure: I have no interest in discussing the ideal position of Liger blades. Maybe I'll just use the X CAS and be done with it. That being said, I do appreciate that if the details are incorrect it can break the immersion in the story. That was a valuable lesson. If I write in any other sci fi or sci fi-like fandoms I'll keep that in mind. Problem is, I spent too much time trying to confirm things like the Shield Liger's missile pods fold down or the proper weaponry. Time that should have been spent on refining the story. I know there are some very rough sections.

The story I wanted to write is one where the Ultimate Xs influence their pilots. The Liger Zero makes Bit more confident, more proud, arrogant, and even possessive. You can imagine Vega would be in a far worse situation. Maybe I should have put an AU warning in the summary. I tried to throw in hints, the way he feels the Zero's excitement, the presence in his mind. His eyes are dark green vs light green when being more influenced. But it got overshadowed as I tried to get all the pieces in place. The section in italics is Bit relieving the crash from the Zero's perspective. In short, I'd rather focus on character development than combat. I don't know if I'll do another chapter or start a sequel. Don't expect Bit and Naomi's relationship to be off to a perfect start. I hope everyone has a good holiday.


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